Center for Community and Citizen Science

Information about human activities along the coast can help us understand human impacts on natural resources and the benefits people derive from marine protected areas (MPAs). In this project we examined human activities along the California coast from 2012 to 2020 using data from the MPA Watch community science network, gathered by more than 1,900 volunteer participants, and a handful of program staff. MPA Watch is gathering useful data at a statewide scale, and has successfully grown its network of volunteer monitoring programs over the last decade to include 12 local programs, 104 monitoring sites, and hundreds of volunteer surveyors each year. Among the observations recorded by MPA Watch surveyors, non-consumptive recreational activities vastly outnumber consumptive activities like fishing, both inside and outside of MPAs. This highlights the value of MPA Watch data for understanding human coastal use, underscores the importance of recreational activities in California’s coastal economy, and reinforces the need to monitor and understand non-consumptive uses in and around MPAs. Our analysis confirms that MPA Watch data can detect broad, statistically robust patterns in human activities along the coast, including among recreational activities that relate to Goal 3 of the Marine Life Protection Act, but have not been the focus of other socioeconomic monitoring projects. MPA Watch data can also be used to detect statistically significant differences between activities inside and outside of MPAs: we used occupancy modeling to investigate the likelihood of occurrence of seven different categories of human activities. From 2012 to 2020 at the statewide level, onshore fishing was less likely inside of MPAs, and tidepooling and recreational boating were more likely inside of MPAs (we found no difference in probability of occurrence for offshore fishing, domestic animals, or onshore or offshore recreation). We conclude with some recommendations for improving MPA Watch data collection protocols, for expanding the use of the data by managers and law enforcement, and for future in-depth analyses that incorporate more of the richness of the dataset

This report highlights the breadth and depth of community and citizen science (CCS) contributions to California’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) program priorities and goals as well as participant contributions and outcomes. We examined the CCS efforts of 10 MPA monitoring projects that received baseline and/or long-term funding from the State. They involved 84,000 participants, 476,000 volunteer hours, 528 monitoring sites, and 100 partner organizations, agencies, institutions, and groups. Beyond the 10 baseline and long-term monitoring projects, there are more than 60 additional CCS projects conducting research and monitoring along the California coast. Though demographic data have not been formally collected or reported from these programs, several programs (including two Tribally-led programs) make explicit efforts to engage underrepresented and underserved communities. Though there were more participants in the north and central California coast, the south coast hosted a higher number of monitoring sites within MPAs than the other two bioregions. Some programs overlap within specific MPAs, and participant roles in these programs cover a wide range of different scientific activities throughout the research process. All four pillars of MPA management had some link to the 10 state-funded projects: research and monitoring; education and outreach; enforcement and compliance; and policy and permitting. Our analysis hints at the scale of the public’s desire to participate in science on the California Coast, but also raises the question of what untapped interest and capacity remain, particularly in underrepresented communities. Future work could investigate participant demographics, learning outcomes and other participant benefits, and participant motivations and engagement patterns. There is also potential for greater coordination between project leaders of coastal CCS programs, and desire from participants to see how CCS data are used by managers and policy makers.

Environmental monitoring is an important component of dam removal and watershed restoration. One way to meet the need for environmental monitoring is to involve local communities and organizations through citizen science. Citizen science can help to gather important data about changes in a watershed, while also building and sustaining community engagement in watershed restoration. We have developed a comprehensive Manual to support planning and implementation of citizen science activities in the context of dam removal and watershed restoration. This Quick Guide summarizes the key recommendations found in the main document (found at https://doi.org/10.58076/C6159T). You can use this guide as a starting point, and then delve in further to explore the Manual’s detailed considerations for the different stages of, and types of, citizen science, and to connect with additional resources that can help you plan a project.

This report reflects on the past, present, and potential future of community and citizen science (CCS) in the Elwha River watershed, with particular focus on the years before and after a major restoration event: the removal of two dams that had impacted the river system for a century. We ask: how does CCS feature in the Elwha story and how could it feature? We use the term CCS to reference the broad range of ways in which members of the public might participate in authentic science and monitoring processes, including students and both paid and unpaid interns: participants are individuals contributing to scientific projects without prior formal training in the topic. We present insights about Elwha CCS from an academic literature review and discussions with scientists and many others that have been working in the Elwha. We found that the history of CCS on the Elwha is important but understated, with few scientific papers acknowledging support by volunteers of various kinds. Recent and ongoing CCS projects on the Elwha tend to be focused on biological phenomena, and most are associated with educational opportunities (across many types of institutions) and paid internships. We also noted that most Elwha CCS projects required volunteers with particular pre-existing skill sets (e.g., botanical knowledge) or time to impart specialized training (e.g. boat use), leading many projects towards engagement with a smaller number of volunteers. Many new projects would broaden public involvement in terms of the opportunities available, and increase the variety of focal topics for research and monitoring. This increased breadth is promising: there are indications that the local community’s interests also range widely, from fish recovery after dam removal to dam removal impacts on humans. Elwha CCS projects have encountered some challenges and barriers, including the administrative burden of coordinating volunteers and managing liability concerns. But Elwha ScienceScape scientists are committed to the value that CCS brings both to the research itself as well as to those who participate in these projects. CCS can be a way to increase equity in science and engage people who would not otherwise participate in research, and in many cases the research simply wouldn’t be possible without their help. Support with project administration, volunteer management, and data management could help in expanding CCS efforts and broadening their inclusivity. More systematic tracking of CCS projects to assess how they contribute to research and to community and participant benefit could be helpful in establishing and maintaining a long-term CCS strategy in the Elwha.

Involving the public in watershed research and monitoring through a community and citizen science approach offers project funders and partners the opportunity to gather important data about target environmental parameters and build and sustain community engagement in watershed restoration. The UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science has developed this manual to guide groups in their planning and implementation of community and citizen science activities for dam removal and for river restoration more generally. This document is based on the experience of the authors and a wealth of academic publications and other literature, including resources from many other community and citizen science programs that have tackled challenges related to volunteer monitoring in watersheds. The manual includes guidance on: deciding whether community and citizen science is appropriate for your project, given your goals and context; how to build a team with the capacity to support the project, and identifying roles within that team; how to design a monitoring project while balancing scientific rigor, feasibility, and participation; details that arise with on-the-ground implementation; and how to sustain projects in the long term and ensure that their results are useful for the original goals of the project.

Sharing what you’ve learned is fundamental to Youth-focused Community and Citizen Science, yet the audiences and uses of data and findings are often invisible to participants. Involving youth directly in sharing findings with outside audiences is one way to (1) further motivate, (2) help youth review and reflect on what youth are learning, and (3) diversify the products, processes and people involved in YCCS. With the case studies and resources, read more about this key practice, why we think it is important to learning in YCCS, and the different forms it can take—from scientific posters, to blogs, to conversations with community members.

Youth ownership of data quality is the practice of giving young people responsibility for high quality CCS data collection and analysis. As young people gain expertise through practice, they can then be positioned to regulate data collection and analyses for themselves and their peers. We found that creating opportunities for students to be responsible for data collection and analysis helped them understand data and the role of data in scientific endeavors, and develop a sense of ownership around their work in YCCS.

Instead of studying nature alone on a pedestal, treating humans, plants, and animals as one social ecological system (SES) can be valuable for meaningful learning about environmental stewardship and science. Our research shows that using YCCS as a way to engage young people in thinking about complex interactions between human and nature can promote sophisticated reasoning, access to student’s funds of knowledge, and connection to place. In the case studies below, read more about how educators encourage young people to grapple with the world around them.