scholarly journals The value of citizen science for ecological monitoring of mammals

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arielle Waldstein Parsons ◽  
Christine Goforth ◽  
Robert Costello ◽  
Roland Kays
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Private Land ◽  
School Students ◽  
Private Lands ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Center Staff

Citizen science approaches are of great interest for their potential to efficiently and sustainably monitor wildlife populations on both public and private lands. Here we present two studies that worked with volunteers to set camera traps for ecological surveys. The photographs recorded by these citizen scientists were archived and verified using the eMammal software platform, providing a professional grade, vouchered database of biodiversity records. Motivated by managers’ concern with perceived high bear activity, our first example enlisted the help of homeowners in a short-term study to compare black bear activity inside a National Historic Site with surrounding private land. We found similar levels of bear activity inside and outside the NHS, and regional comparisons suggest the bear population is typical. Participants benefited from knowing their local bear population was normal and managers refocused bear management given this new information. Our second example is a continuous survey of wildlife using the grounds of a nature education center that actively manages habitat to maintain a grassland prairie. Center staff incorporated the camera traps into educational programs, involving visitors with camera setup and picture review. Over two years and 5,968 camera-nights this survey has collected 41,393 detections of 14 wildlife species. Detection rates and occupancy were higher in open habitats compared to forest, suggesting that the maintenance of prairie habitat is beneficial to some species. Over 500 volunteers of all ages participated in this project over two years. Some of the greatest benefits have been to high school students, exemplified by a student with autism who increased his communication and comfort level with others through field work with the cameras. These examples show how, with the right tools, training and survey design protocols, citizen science can be used to answer a variety of applied management questions while connecting participants with their secretive mammal neighbors.

MOMSTER, a Europlanet-funded public engagement project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stijn Calders ◽  
Hervé Lamy ◽  
Michel Anciaux ◽  
Karolien Lefever ◽  
Katrien Kolenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Mobile Radio ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
School Students ◽  
Project Proposal ◽  
Radio Receivers

<p>In May 2020, Europlanet Society launched a call to fund projects to engage the public with planetary science. Our project proposal called MOMSTER: MObile Meteor STation for Education & outReach was amongst the three projects that were granted.</p> <p>MOMSTER aims at developing a Meteor Education Kit as a resource for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) teachers in secondary schools. The kit includes a mobile radio meteor station consisting of a dedicated antenna and radio receiver, as well as an educational package to learn all about meteors and their detection methods, while at the same time conveying a fascination for the ephemeral beauty and complexity of these natural light shows. The project goals are stimulating STEAM (ultimately resulting in nudging future career choices towards science or engineering career paths) and the use of citizen science (especially the Radio Meteor Zoo initiative on the online citizen science platform Zooniverse) at schools, and reaching the general public.</p> <p>The development of educational resources builds upon preliminary experiences we gained by participating in an Erasmus+ project called BRITEC (Bringing Research into ThE Classroom), in which teachers and pupils participated in the Radio Meteor Zoo activity.  We are presently in a pilot phase where three Belgian schools (two Dutch speaking and one French speaking) test the mobile radio meteor station and the educational resources, and give their feedback.</p> <p>We are using STEAM-education as an approach to broaden our target group towards less scientifically oriented students. We do this by developing an educational resource on visual (science) communication. We also organized an art & design competition for high school students with more than 30 submissions. The best piece of art will decorate the ‘MOMSTER boxes’ we use for transport of the radio receivers.</p>

scholarly journals Comparison of YouthCHAT, an Electronic Composite Psychosocial Screener, With a Clinician Interview Assessment for Young People: Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiran Thabrew ◽  
Simona D'Silva ◽  
Margot Darragh ◽  
Mary Goldfinch ◽  
Jake Meads ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Psychosocial Problems ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
School Students ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
School Based

BACKGROUND Psychosocial problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse are common and burdensome in young people. In New Zealand, screening for such problems is undertaken routinely only with year 9 students in low-decile schools and opportunistically in pediatric settings using a nonvalidated and time-consuming clinician-administered Home, Education, Eating, Activities, Drugs and Alcohol, Sexuality, Suicide and Depression, Safety (HEEADSSS) interview. The Youth version, Case-finding and Help Assessment Tool (YouthCHAT) is a relatively new, locally developed, electronic tablet–based composite screener for identifying similar psychosocial issues to HEEADSSS OBJECTIVE This study aimed to compare the performance and acceptability of YouthCHAT with face-to-face HEEADSSS assessment among 13-year-old high school students. METHODS A counterbalanced randomized trial of YouthCHAT screening either before or after face-to-face HEEADSSS assessment was undertaken with 129 13-year-old New Zealand high school students of predominantly Māori and Pacific Island ethnicity. Main outcome measures were comparability of YouthCHAT and HEEADSSS completion times, detection rates, and acceptability to students and school nurses. RESULTS YouthCHAT screening was more than twice as fast as HEEADSSS assessment (mean 8.57 min vs mean 17.22 min; mean difference 8 min 25 seconds [range 6 min 20 seconds to 11 min 10 seconds]; <italic>P</italic>&lt;.01) and detected more issues overall on comparable domains. For substance misuse and problems at home, both instruments were roughly comparable. YouthCHAT detected significantly more problems with eating or body image perception (70/110, 63.6% vs 25/110, 22.7%; <italic>P</italic>&lt;.01), sexual health (24/110, 21.8% vs 10/110, 9.1%; <italic>P</italic>=.01), safety (65/110, 59.1% vs 17/110, 15.5%; <italic>P</italic>&lt;.01), and physical inactivity (43/110, 39.1% vs 21/110, 19.1%; <italic>P</italic>&lt;.01). HEEADSSS had a greater rate of detection for a broader set of mental health issues (30/110, 27%) than YouthCHAT (11/110, 10%; <italic>P</italic>=.001), which only assessed clinically relevant anxiety and depression. Assessment order made no significant difference to the duration of assessment or to the rates of YouthCHAT-detected positive screens for anxiety and depression. There were no significant differences in student acceptability survey results between the two assessments. Nurses identified that students found YouthCHAT easy to answer and that it helped students answer face-to-face questions, especially those of a sensitive nature. Difficulties encountered with YouthCHAT included occasional Wi-Fi connectivity and student literacy issues. CONCLUSIONS This study provides preliminary evidence regarding the shorter administration time, detection rates, and acceptability of YouthCHAT as a school-based psychosocial screener for young people. Although further research is needed to confirm its effectiveness in other age and ethnic groups, YouthCHAT shows promise for aiding earlier identification and treatment of common psychosocial problems in young people, including possible use as part of an annual, school-based, holistic health check. CLINICALTRIAL Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Network Registry (ACTRN) ACTRN12616001243404p; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=371422.

SeaCleaner: Focusing Citizen Science and Environment Education on Unraveling the Marine Litter Problem

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 99-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Merlino ◽  
Marina Locritani ◽  
Mascha Stroobant ◽  
Erika Mioni ◽  
Daniela Tosi
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Marine Strategy Framework Directive ◽  
School Students ◽  
Marine Litter ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations

AbstractThe Pilot Project “SeaCleaner” is a citizen science and educational project, developed by the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Italian Research Council (CNR-ISMAR). Since 2013, it has involved environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), volunteers, five Italian Marine Protected Areas surrounding the Pelagos Sanctuary, and so far more than 50 high school students within the Italian program for “work-related learning internships.” The project aims to overcome the lack of current data on marine litter—a gap of knowledge that cannot be ignored any longer, according to the last European Union's ambitious Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)—by building an app for Android devices, which is easy to use and, at the same time, methodologically sound and comprehensive. This should enable a continuous census (in time and space) for supporting the proper management and removal of solid waste (through scheduled campaigns, etc.). The project has multiple effects: (1) to prompt students to broaden their scientific knowledge on topics not strictly related to scholastic curricula, making them aware of current environmental problems and teaching them how to solve them; (2) to engage an increasing number of volunteers in marine litter monitoring activities; and (3) to contribute to a common protocol for data acquisition, useful for both environmental and scientific purposes, helping scientists to overcome the lack of current data on marine litter.

scholarly journals Comparison of YouthCHAT, an Electronic Composite Psychosocial Screener, With a Clinician Interview Assessment for Young People: Randomized Trial

10.2196/13911 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. e13911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiran Thabrew ◽  
Simona D'Silva ◽  
Margot Darragh ◽  
Mary Goldfinch ◽  
Jake Meads ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Psychosocial Problems ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
School Students ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
School Based

Background Psychosocial problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse are common and burdensome in young people. In New Zealand, screening for such problems is undertaken routinely only with year 9 students in low-decile schools and opportunistically in pediatric settings using a nonvalidated and time-consuming clinician-administered Home, Education, Eating, Activities, Drugs and Alcohol, Sexuality, Suicide and Depression, Safety (HEEADSSS) interview. The Youth version, Case-finding and Help Assessment Tool (YouthCHAT) is a relatively new, locally developed, electronic tablet–based composite screener for identifying similar psychosocial issues to HEEADSSS Objective This study aimed to compare the performance and acceptability of YouthCHAT with face-to-face HEEADSSS assessment among 13-year-old high school students. Methods A counterbalanced randomized trial of YouthCHAT screening either before or after face-to-face HEEADSSS assessment was undertaken with 129 13-year-old New Zealand high school students of predominantly Māori and Pacific Island ethnicity. Main outcome measures were comparability of YouthCHAT and HEEADSSS completion times, detection rates, and acceptability to students and school nurses. Results YouthCHAT screening was more than twice as fast as HEEADSSS assessment (mean 8.57 min vs mean 17.22 min; mean difference 8 min 25 seconds [range 6 min 20 seconds to 11 min 10 seconds]; P<.01) and detected more issues overall on comparable domains. For substance misuse and problems at home, both instruments were roughly comparable. YouthCHAT detected significantly more problems with eating or body image perception (70/110, 63.6% vs 25/110, 22.7%; P<.01), sexual health (24/110, 21.8% vs 10/110, 9.1%; P=.01), safety (65/110, 59.1% vs 17/110, 15.5%; P<.01), and physical inactivity (43/110, 39.1% vs 21/110, 19.1%; P<.01). HEEADSSS had a greater rate of detection for a broader set of mental health issues (30/110, 27%) than YouthCHAT (11/110, 10%; P=.001), which only assessed clinically relevant anxiety and depression. Assessment order made no significant difference to the duration of assessment or to the rates of YouthCHAT-detected positive screens for anxiety and depression. There were no significant differences in student acceptability survey results between the two assessments. Nurses identified that students found YouthCHAT easy to answer and that it helped students answer face-to-face questions, especially those of a sensitive nature. Difficulties encountered with YouthCHAT included occasional Wi-Fi connectivity and student literacy issues. Conclusions This study provides preliminary evidence regarding the shorter administration time, detection rates, and acceptability of YouthCHAT as a school-based psychosocial screener for young people. Although further research is needed to confirm its effectiveness in other age and ethnic groups, YouthCHAT shows promise for aiding earlier identification and treatment of common psychosocial problems in young people, including possible use as part of an annual, school-based, holistic health check. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Network Registry (ACTRN) ACTRN12616001243404p; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=371422.

scholarly journals Repeated Psychosocial Screening of High School Students Using YouthCHAT: Cohort Study

10.2196/20976 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e20976
Author(s):  
Hiran Thabrew ◽  
Harshali Kumar ◽  
Mary Goldfinch ◽  
Alana Cavadino ◽  
Felicity Goodyear-Smith
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Fisher Exact Test ◽  
School Students ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
School Based ◽  
Routine Identification

Background Psychosocial problems are common during adolescence and can have long-lasting effects on health and on academic and social functioning. YouthCHAT, an electronic HEEADSSS (home, education, eating, activities, drugs and alcohol, suicide and depression, sexuality and safety)-aligned instrument, has recently been demonstrated to be an acceptable and effective school-based psychosocial screener for 13-year-old (Year 9) high school students. Objective This study aims to compare acceptability and detection rates with repeated YouthCHAT screenings of high school students when they are 13 years old (Year 9) and 14 years old (Year 10). Methods We invited all Year-10 students to complete a YouthCHAT screening in 2018. Rates of positively identified issues were compared between the subset of students screened in both 2017 and 2018. Student acceptability toward YouthCHAT was investigated through focus group sessions. Onward clinical referral rates in 2018 were also investigated to explore the potential referral burden following screening. Data analysis for rates of positively identified issues were conducted with the McNemar test. Chi-square, Fisher exact test, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyze the focus group data. Results Of 141 eligible Year-10 students, 114 (81%) completed a YouthCHAT screening during 2018, and 97 (85%) of them completed it for a second time. Apart from depression, which increased (P=.002), and perceived life stress, which decreased (P=.04), rates of identified issues were broadly similar between 13 and 14 years of age. Repeated screenings via YouthCHAT was acceptable to students and time-efficient (mean, 6 minutes and 32 seconds) but did not reduce the overall number of individuals with identified issues. Onward clinical referrals from positive screens were mostly managed by school-based health services without the need for external referrals. Conclusions Although further evaluation is needed, our results support the value of YouthCHAT as an acceptable and effective instrument with which to achieve routine identification of psychosocial issues and early intervention within a high school environment.

scholarly journals High School Students as Citizen Scientists to Decrease Radon Exposure

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 9178
Author(s):  
Ellen J. Hahn ◽  
Craig Wilmhoff ◽  
Mary Kay Rayens ◽  
Nicholas B. Conley ◽  
Emily Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
School Students ◽  
Radon Exposure ◽  
The University ◽  
Radon Testing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Family Centered

Residents in rural Kentucky (KY) and suburban Ohio (OH) expressed concerns about radon exposure and lung cancer. Although 85% of lung cancer cases are caused by tobacco smoke, radon exposure accounts for 10–15% of lung cancer cases. Academic and community members from the University of KY and the University of Cincinnati developed and pilot-tested a family-centered, youth-engaged home radon testing toolkit. The radon toolkit included radon information, and how to test, interpret, and report back findings. We educated youth as citizen scientists and their teachers in human subjects protection and home radon testing using the toolkit in the classroom. Youth citizen scientists explained the study to their parents and obtained informed consent. One hundred students were trained in human subjects protection, 27 had parental permission to be citizen scientists, and 18 homeowners completed surveys. Radon values ranged from < 14.8 Bq/m3 to 277.5 Bq/m3. Youth were interested and engaged in citizen science and this family-centered, school-based project provided a unique opportunity to further the healthy housing and quality education components of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Further research is needed to test the impact of student-led, family-centered citizen science projects in environmental health as part of school curricula.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document