Understanding Motivations for Citizen Science
Citizen science plays an important role in delivering environmental data at local and national scales, and can form the basis of scientific research, as well as evidence for policy and management. Citizen science is also an important way of connecting people with nature, and has been used to help organisations communicate the importance of their work in the area of nature conservation. However, without an understanding of why and how people (non- professional volunteers) participate in citizen science, some initiatives could miss their mark and fail to provide the expected benefits to science and society. These social drivers of evidence-gathering by citizen scientists are often overlooked by stakeholders in favour of discussions around the need for and quality of the resulting data. This study explores the motivations of environmental-based citizen science participants and stakeholders from ‘science’, ‘policy’ and ‘practice’.
Tree Health Citizen Science Network
The aim of the network is for all key organisations and individuals with an interest in tree health and citizen science to:
- keep each other up to date with their latest work
- share experiences and best practice
- identify opportunities for joint working
Longer term, the network aims to improve how tree health citizen science opportunities are presented and marketed to the public. We want to make it easier for people to easily understand what projects are available and which opportunities are most appropriate for them.
Other tree health citizen science projects and initiatives in the UK.
The Culture of Enthusiasm 
Pingback: TrackATree week 1: I doubt my botanical credentials and get distracted by technology | Shallow Roots