Heidi L. Ballard

University of California, Davis | UCD · School of Education

In the face of growing social‐ecological challenges, multiple forms of expertise must be brought to bear in environmental problem‐solving. As such, community‐based science has been touted as a potential way to “democratize” scientific knowledge production, allowing for multiple sources of expertise to be harnessed and for learning across stakeholde...

Deficit, dialogue, or participation—which of these three main models of science communications is the best fit to describe activities and experiences of citizen science? One might assume that participation is the best match, but the reality of citizen science events is more complex. The rosette model of science communication offers a more detailed...

In the face of the climate crisis, sustainability education must include a focus on understandings of socio-ecological systems (SES) and applying systems thinking (ST) skills. This study investigates a Community and Citizen Science (CCS) program designed for elementary school students to collect forest data to better understand their SES and gain i...

Participation in authentic research in the field and online through community and Citizen Science (CCS) has been shown to bring learning benefits to volunteers. In online CCS, available platforms present distinct features, ranging from scaffolding the data collection process to supporting data analysis and enabling volunteers to initiate their own...

Youth-focused Community and Citizen Science (CCS) projects are contexts in which youth can contribute to the entire “data lifecycle”––from data-collection to decision-making with their scientific findings. But data alone does not contain the answers for what action to take and how. Using the educational context of an afterschool CCS bird monitoring...

At its best, in community and citizen science (CCS) learning happens as a part of scientific work: Young people engage with new practices and tools as they generate data and knowledge used by professional scientists, advocates, resource managers, and other decision makers. By expanding the roles youth may take up and allowing a diverse range of exp...

This article reports a case study of a UK-based marine citizen science project as it navigated the dual aims of adapting the program (1) for youth environmental science learning and (2) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main findings highlight that the scientific messaging within a citizen science program is crucial, regardless of how the p...

We investigated youth participation in three Community and Citizen Science (CCS) programs led by natural history museums in out-of-school settings. Using second generation Activity Theory, we looked at repeated participation over time, collecting and then qualitatively analyzing ethnographic fieldnote observations on focal youth participation and c...

Multi-stakeholder initiatives for biodiversity conservation on working landscapes often necessitate strategies to facilitate learning in order to foster successful collaboration. To investigate the learning processes that both undergird and result from collaborative efforts, this case study employs the concept of boundary work as a lens to examine...

Citizen and community science can improve conservation efforts, help people connect with nature, and strengthen online social infrastructure during periods of disturbance. Volunteers for citizen and community science (CCS) projects engage in a variety of activities ranging from in-person group tasks to isolated online tasks. The diversity of availa...

Community and citizen science in online settings could be seen as a means for young people to engage with and contribute to authentic science. Yet, there is a limited understanding of who takes part in citizen science among young people, what they learn, and through which processes, particularly in online settings. In this exploratory study, we ana...

This study addresses an existing gap in our understanding of how participation in environmental Community and Citizen Science (CCS) projects may impact young volunteers' environmental science learning across a wide variety of settings. We examined youth learning across four settings which we represented as cases: 5 short-term field-based events (Bi...

Involving multiple stakeholders in conservation and natural resource management through participatory and collaborative approaches has been lauded as having great potential for achieving healthy and resilient social-ecological systems. Within these approaches, social learning has come to be understood as a key process that can support resilient sys...

A key way that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines and agricultural education can be integrated into school-based curriculum and structures, particularly within urban contexts, is via an environmental education (EE) approach. We provide a case example in California of how science and environmental education can be me...

Online community and citizen science (CCS) projects have broadened access to scientific research and enabled different forms of participation in biodiversity research; however, little is known about whether and how such opportunities are taken up by young people (aged 5–19). Furthermore, when they do participate, there is little research on whether...

BioBlitzes, typically one-day citizen science (CS) events, provide opportunities for the public to participate in data collection for research and conservation, potentially promoting deeper engagement with science. We observed 81 youth at 15 BioBlitzes in the U.S. and U.K., identifying five steps participants use to create a biological record (Expl...

To address the limited time and support for elementary science, science instruction is sometimes distributed among classroom teachers, science specialists, and informal science educators, creating a complex school science culture. We investigate how student agency may be enabled and constrained when school science learning happens simultaneously ac...

Online citizen science projects have broadened options for accessing science and enabled different forms of participation in scientific research for adult and young volunteers. Yet, little is known regarding participation patterns among youth participants. Quantitative approaches were used to investigate the contribution of 183 young volunteers to...

Growing numbers of Citizen Science (CS) projects focus on learning about science through the collaboration of professional scientists and citizen scientists. However, resources for the design and evaluation of CS projects in terms of learning about science are scarce. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide a model for the heuristic analysis of the...

Citizen Science (CS) is an increasingly popular activity enacted either in the field or online. Volunteers participate in research activities such as data processing and analysis by, for example, identifying plants and animals. In this paper we examine young people’s participation in online CS projects hosted on the Zooniverse platform. This is an...

In youth-focused community and citizen (YCCS) youth in classrooms and community-based programs produce data that scientists, resource managers and community members will use. This “nested” data situates learners’ scientific activity within larger datasets, projects, and communities, with consequences for youth agency. To document opportunities for...

To date, most studies of citizen science engagement focus on quantifiable measures related to the contribution of data or other output measures. Few studies have attempted to qualitatively characterize citizen science engagement across multiple projects and from the perspective of the participants. Building on pertinent literature and sociocultural...

Citizen science, the active participation of the public in scientific research projects, is a rapidly expanding field in open science and open innovation. It provides an integrated model of public knowledge production and engagement with science. As a growing worldwide phenomenon, it is invigorated by evolving new technologies that connect people e...

Ugandan smallholder farmers need to feed a growing population, but their efforts are hampered by declining soil fertility rates. Agricultural extension can facilitate farmers’ access to new practices and technologies, yet farmers are understandably often hesitant to adopt new behaviors. New knowledge assimilation is an important component of behavi...

In recent years, citizen science has emerged as a powerful new concept to enable the general public, students, and volunteers to become involved in scientific research. A prime example is in biodiversity conservation, where data collection and monitoring can be greatly enhanced through citizen participation. This is the first book to provide much n...

Through their unique combination of specimen collections, scientific and public education expertise, and wide audience reach and trust, natural history museums (NHMs) are obvious settings for bridging conservation science and education through citizen science. Building on over 100 years of amateur naturalist contributions to biodiversity science, a...

Land trusts play an increasingly important role in conservation both in terms of the magnitude of conservation activities in which they participate and the total proportion of all conservation that they represent. Making informed conservation management decisions and local community engagement are two critical problems facing operators of locally-o...

Many citizen science projects are place-based - built on in-person participation and motivated by local conservation. When done thoughtfully, this approach to citizen science can transform humans and their environment. Despite such possibilities, many projects struggle to meet decision-maker needs, generate useful data to inform decisions, and impr...

Citizen science has advanced science for hundreds of years, contributed to many peer-reviewed articles, and informed land management decisions and policies across the United States. Over the last 10 years, citizen science has grown immensely in the United States and many other countries. Here, we show how citizen science is a powerful tool for tack...

Citizen science by youth is rapidly expanding, but very little research has addressed the ways programs meet the dual goals of rigorous conservation science and environmental science education. We examined case studies of youth-focused community and citizen science (CCS) and analyzed the learning processes and outcomes, and stewardship activities f...

Amateur naturalists have played an important role in the study and conservation of nature since the 17(th) century. Today, naturalist groups make important contributions to bridge the gap between conservation science and practice around the world. We examined data from two regional naturalist programs to understand participant motivations, barriers...

Over the past 20 years, thousands of citizen science projects engaging millions of participants in collecting and/or processing data have sprung up around the world. Here we review documented outcomes from four categories of citizen science projects which are defined by the nature of the activities in which their participants engage - Data Collecti...

Against the backdrop of a dramatic increase in citizen science activity worldwide, we convened a combined symposium and focus group at the 2014 International Marine Conservation Congress to consider the challenges and opportunities for mobilizing citizen science in the marine and coastal environment. Highlighting the diversity of existing models an...

The goal of this report is to help government agencies and other organizations involved in natural resource management, environmental protection, and policymaking related to both to make informed decisions about investing in citizen science. In this report, we explore the current use of citizen science in natural resource and environmental science...

We studied seven programs that engage youth from 10 to 18 years old in wildfire risk reduction in their communities in the United States through in-depth interviews to examine the nature and role of community-school partnerships in resource-focused environmental education. While the programs use a variety of strategies, from Scout badge to summer s...

Ethical issues are intrinsic to conducting research regarding society and natural resources, but they often become poignant when engaging in Participatory Action Research. We compiled common and persistent challenges into a list of “Questions That Won't Go Away” or “QTWGAs” that are relevant to people interested in conducting participatory research...

"Collaborative and community-based monitoring are becoming more frequent, yet few studies have examined the process and outcomes of these monitoring approaches. We studied 18 collaborative or community-based ecological assessment or monitoring projects undertaken by five community-based forestry organizations (CBFs), to investigate the objectives,...

Background/Question/Methods The UC California Naturalist Program is a new interdisciplinary education program focused on teaching ecology and natural history to foster a scientifically literate public ready to contribute to environmental problem solving. With this goal, it is important to understand how interest in science and the environment dev...

Around the globe, thousands of research projects are engaging millions of individuals—many of whom are not trained as scientists—in collecting, categorizing, transcribing, or analyzing scientific data. These projects, known as citizen science, cover a breadth of topics from microbiomes to native bees to water quality to galaxies. Most projects obta...

The Conference on Public Participation in Scientific Research 2012 was held on 4 and 5 August in association with the Ecological Society of America's 97th Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The conference took important steps toward formalizing the field of public participation in scientific research (PPSR); facilitated communication, collaboratio...

Ecologically oriented citizen-science experiences engage the public in learning while facilitating the achievement of robust scientific program goals. Evaluation of learning outcomes has become increasingly prioritized, requiring citizen-science program managers to understand key issues in evaluation. We argue that citizen science can have other, m...

Members of the public participate in scientific research in many different contexts, stemming from traditions as varied as participatory action research and citizen science. Particularly in conservation and natural resource management contexts, where research often addresses complex social–ecological questions, the emphasis on and nature of this pa...

In the following case study, we examine the interplay between self-perception, environmental perception, and the interests and practice of volunteer trail guides who were recruited to provide educational services for visitors to a natural reserve in Northern California. Through semi-structured interviews with 15 guides and observations of training...

In this paper we use a critically reflective research approach to analyze our efforts at transformative learning in food systems education in a land grant university. As a team of learners across the educational hierarchy, we apply scholarly tools to the teaching process and learning outcomes of student-centered inquiries in a food systems course....

Ecologically oriented citizen-science experiences engage the public in learning while facilitating the achievement of robust scientific program goals. Evaluation of learning outcomes has become increasingly prioritized, requiring citizen-science program managers to understand key issues in evaluation. We argue that citizen science can have other, m...

Many environmental education programs in the United States educate youth about the prevention of wildfire and its role in ecosystems. We reviewed 50 wildfire education programs for youth (WEY) in the U.S. through an Internet search and interviews with program providers. We investigated whether they reflect current wildfire science, environmental ed...

Background/Question/Methods Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR) refers to intentional research collaborations between professional scientists and members of the public, where the initiative aims to build on established knowledge and to contribute new understandings. PPSR efforts have emerged from a variety of social and academic tr...

How can a participatory approach to research promote environmental learning and enhance social–ecological systems resilience? Participatory action research (PAR) is an approach to research that its’ supporters claim can foster new knowledge, learning, and action to support positive social and environmental change through reorienting the standard pr...

Introduction Community-based forestry (CBF) in the United States (USA) has taken a variety of forms, as resource-dependent communities attempt to balance local social, ecological and economic needs with the preferences of stakeholders outside the community. Although CBF is about more than biodiversity, stakeholders value it for different reasons. T...

Insect pollinators provide critical services to natural systems and agriculture throughout the world. An estimated 75% of the world's flowering plants and 30% of our global crop production depend at least partially on animal pollinators. Despite their recognized value, long-term population studies for most pollinating taxa are lacking. Citizen scie...

This session will describe several models for involving the public in authentic scientific research, including citizen science, community science, and participatory action research. We offer recommendations for building innovative Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR) projects that will advance the field of informal science education i...

We address the question of how credible knowledge that will contribute to more effective forest policy and management can be produced. We argue that some forest-related knowledge-producing practices of professional scientists and of local people are similar, and given the differences in the knowledge they produce, we explore how they might be used...

Background/Question/Methods Ecological research and monitoring that involves the public can influence ecological literacy in two key ways — not only does the public gain an understanding and appreciation for ecological processes, but also for the process of science itself. This understanding of both ecology and the scientific process can help cit...

https://books.google.se/books?hl=en&lr=&id=8TGsbxKaGkwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA245&dq=info:T1assMfluuIJ:scholar.google.com&ots=PYtd9s3ujc&sig=GaV3o22hrgzrd_HrxFRyXn7hUks&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

"Natural resource management decisions can be based on incomplete knowledge when they lack scientific research, monitoring, and assessment and/or simultaneously fail to draw on local ecological knowledge. Many community-based forestry organizations in the United States attempt to address these knowledge gaps with an integrated ecological stewardshi...

Participatory (collaborative, multiparty, citizen, volunteer) monitoring is a process that has been increasing in popularity and use in both developing and industrialized societies over the last several decades. It reflects the understanding that natural resource decisions are more effective and less controversial when stakeholders who have an inte...

Despite growing interest in traditional and local ecological knowledge for conservation and resource management, the role of migrant resource users is largely unexplored. Challenging many assumptions about what constitutes “local knowledge,” migrant and immigrant harvesters of non-timber forest products on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington possess...

"Doug Wilson discusses fisheries, fishers and fishery scientists, but his insights into the typical dichotomy of local/traditional versus scientific knowledge applies to many fields, especially forests, forest workers and forest scientists. His juxtaposition of tacit and discursive, oral and written, and anecdotal and systematic forms of knowledge...

Many native mosses, lichens, ferns, herbs, shrubs, and fungi are harvested by humans from the understories of Pacific Northwest forests. These understory products are used personally and commercially for decorative, culinary, medicinal, cultural and educational purposes. Understory species harvested for any of these purposes are typically and awkwa...

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr184/ In 1995 and 2000, a monitoring program was designed and implemented to track oak regeneration and native grass populations in target management areas in the four Open Space Preserves of the City of Walnut Creek, California. The program resulted from a collaboration of scientists at the Uni...

"One of the ways that communities can use value-added activities to transform their forests into economic assets is to add their labor to the resource. To this end, ethnically diverse communities of interest in western Washington and Oregon are increasingly harvesting wild non-timber forest products (NTFP?s), particularly floral greens, from both p...

"Challenging many assumptions about what constitutes 'local knowledge', immigrant Latino and Southeast Asian harvesters of non-timber forest products on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington possess extensive ecological knowledge of overstory-understory relationships and how forestry practices affect understory biological and commercial production. Spe...