Citizen scientists: school students conducting, contributing to and communicating ecological research – experiences of a school–university partnership

Hsing, P.-Y.; Coghill, L.; Ryder, J.; Austin, M.; Dooley, S.; Ellison, A.; Fenwick, C.; Garland, M.; Humphrey, P.; Proudlock, H.; Robson, A.; Steer, C.; Turnbull, L.; Kent, V.T.; Bradley, S.; Hill, R.A.; Ascroft, R.; Stephens, P.A.

Citizen scientists: school students conducting, contributing to and communicating ecological research – experiences of a school–university partnership

Hsing, P.-Y.; Coghill, L.; Ryder, J.; Austin, M.; Dooley, S.; Ellison, A.; Fenwick, C.; Garland, M.; Humphrey, P.; Proudlock, H.; Robson, A.; Steer, C.; Turnbull, L.; Kent, V.T.; Bradley, S.; Hill, R.A.; Ascroft, R.; Stephens, P.A.

Authors

P.-Y. Hsing

Dr Lorraine Coghill l.s.coghill@durham.ac.uk
Senior Science Engagement Specialist

J. Ryder

M. Austin

S. Dooley

A. Ellison

C. Fenwick

M. Garland

P. Humphrey

H. Proudlock

A. Robson

C. Steer

L. Turnbull

V.T. Kent

Professor Steven Bradley s.p.bradley@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Professor Russell Hill r.a.hill@durham.ac.uk
Professor

R. Ascroft

Professor Philip Stephens philip.stephens@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Started in north-east England in 2015, MammalWeb aims to improve our knowledge of British mammals through the use of motion-sensing camera traps. Fundamental to the project is the involvement of local communities and individuals who act as citizen scientists. They contribute to the collection and analysis of the camera trap photographic data. Here, we jointly describe our experiences as a partnership between Belmont Community School and Durham University. School students became citizen scientists and ecological ambassadors who took part in research and designed outreach materials for their local community. We discuss what we learned and the resulting mutual benefits.

Citation

Hsing, P., Coghill, L., Ryder, J., Austin, M., Dooley, S., Ellison, A., …Stephens, P. (2020). Citizen scientists: school students conducting, contributing to and communicating ecological research – experiences of a school–university partnership. School science review, 101(376), 67-74

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Mar 16, 2020
Online Publication Date	Apr 17, 2020
Publication Date	Mar 31, 2020
Deposit Date	Mar 18, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Apr 22, 2020
Journal	School Science Review
Print ISSN	0036-6811
Publisher	Association for Science Education
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	101
Issue	376
Pages	67-74
Publisher URL	https://www-ase-org-uk.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/resources/school-science-review/issue-376/citizen-scientists-school-students-conducting-contributing