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2016 Autumn | Education & Outreach, Natural Science & Restoration

Increasing Participation in Citizen Science Programs Using Outreach and Education

Student(s):

Madison Keeley

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Jeff Adams

Partner(s):

  • Washington Sea Grant

Faculty advisor(s):

Jason Toft Professor at the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington

I assisted a program within Washington Sea Grant called the Crab Team, which uses citizen science to monitor the invasive “green crab” species. Citizen science is when the public collaborates with scientific professionals to collect and analyze data, which was necessary for the Crab Team since they wanted to monitor and eradicate this invasive species. I was given the task of increasing the public’s knowledge on this issue by creating educational tools and gain more volunteers for the Crab Team using outreach and education. I also did scholarly research focusing on the importance of outreach and education in citizen science programs.