“Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life.”
Rachel Carson’s words introduce this week’s Compassionate Nature research digest which considers the role of citizen science projects within nature conservation and how joining in may provide benefits to those taking part.
The quote is taken from her book The Sense of Wonder, although the marine biologist and conservationist is perhaps best known for the seminal book Silent Spring, published in 1962. In Silent Spring the harmful impacts of pesticides was exposed, especially the use of DDT, with aerial spraying linked to the demise of other species and environmental degradation alongside the death of the target insects. The introduction opens with a story of a town where a strange blight has taken hold of the natural environment, killing off flora, fauna, and some of the townsfolk.
“There was a strange stillness. The birds, for example - where had they gone? Many people spoke of them, puzzled and disturbed.”
In 2024 social media has been awash with people asking a similar question about insects, especially in relation to the more noticeable species such as bees and butterflies. As ever on social media there can be random suggestions on why this is happening ( no, it is not 5G). Entomologists such as Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at University of Sussex, highlights that periods of cooler and wetter weather in the UK during this year has played a key role in lower numbers and it is not unusual for there to be annual fluctuations in some species populations due to weather patterns. In contrast to bees and butterflies, 2024 appears to have been a year that slugs and snails have thoroughly enjoyed so far, based on calls to the RHS and on the state of the crops on our allotment!
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However, while seasonal population fluctuations in response to weather conditions occur this does not mean we should not be alarmed. As Dave Goulson mentions in his video and as Willow Neal highlights in a recent article on the low numbers of butterflies in 2024 , the downward long term trend for butterflies and other insects populations should be a huge concern for us, which we can all help with.
One area that we can help with is by taking part in nature-based citizen science projects which contribute to the understanding of whether population numbers are similar or less than previous years.
Citizen science projects are defined by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology “as the involvement of volunteers in science, so it has the dual benefits of making a contribution to 'real' science, while also engaging many people with science.” Nature-based citizen projects are primarily aimed at gathering data and raising awareness. They include projects such as the annual Big Garden Birdwatch (covered in this previous post) and the Big Butterfly Count which ended on Sunday (4th August). That is an annual event organised by the Butterfly Conservation Charity and early initial results indicate that participants are indeed reporting lower numbers, with around half the number of butterflies compared to the 2023 count and the 2024 count could be the lowest one in the 14 year history of the event. This is a great example of how citizen science projects are supporting scientists and researchers to track populations.
And while we are counting the birds and the butterflies we may also be helping support our mental wellbeing, with recent psychological research highlighting not only the benefits to science but also to those taking part.
Connecting while counting
The Butterfly Conservation Charity worked with researchers from the Nature Connection Research Group at the University of Derby to consider the wellbeing benefits to participants during the 2022 count. A 2024 paper authored by Carly Butler and colleagues provides the details of this work, which considered whether contributing to nature-based citizen science projects corresponded with wellbeing, conservation behaviour and nature connectedness.
Psychology geek reminder - nature connection is seen as a psychological construct different to contact and knowledge , covering our subjective relationship with nature, involving emotional and cognitive aspects alongside sensory engagement. It appears to have links to mental wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours such as nature conservation.
The study used a quasi-experimental mixed-methods design, with three measurement points (start of count, end of count and follow-up) with a sample size of 385 participants, of whom 345 completed the follow-up. The measures included nature connection and relatedness to nature, health and wellbeing, levels of notching nature and pro-nature conservation behaviours, plus a few open questions.
The results indicated that participants reported higher nature connectedness, greater levels of nature noticing and less anxiety between the start and end points, with higher nature noticing levels maintained at the follow-up. No changes in conservation behaviour was noted. The results appeared to correlate with the emotional intensity participants reported from taking part, with the sense of being part of nature linked to joy, compassion and interest levels. Thematic analysis of the open questions found mixed emotional responses to taking part. Many participants reported positive emotions such as enjoyment from participating, from noticing nature more and from learning about butterflies. Many also reported negative emotions, stemming from the sense of noticing less butterflies than previously years, often resulting in sadness, concern and sometimes anger. It also lead to reflections on how local environments may not be that supportive for butterflies. The third theme of conservation suggests participants found hope in taking part, feeling it was a worthwhile activity and they felt part of a community taking part in the count.
The study has a few limitations, notably that demographic data was not captured and there was a high risk of self-selection bias due to the probability that those taking part had high levels of nature connectedness or environmental interest. There may have also been variances in the time differences between the follow-up periods due to the lack of experimental control to when people took part in the count. These limitations aside, the study results do suggest that nature-based citizen projects should not be seen just about research and the affective, emotional impact of taking part may be an aid to wellbeing and potentially as an influence on conservation behaviours.
Does the activity matter ?
A more controlled study by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and researchers from the Nature Connection Research Group at Derby helps to explore if the type of activity involved influences wellbeing benefits and nature connectedness. A 2023 paper by Michael Pocock and colleagues documents a random controlled trial study undertaken during 2020 where participants were allocated to either a citizen project, a noticing nature intervention, or a combination of these. The participants were measured on their sense of being a part of nature, nature connectedness, health and wellbeing plus their nature-conservation behaviours and level of engagement in the activity.
The final sample of 500 participants were split across a pollinator project (43 participants), counting butterflies (94 participants), noticing 3 good things (3GT) in nature (103 participants), a combination of pollinator & 3GT (52 participants) and a combination of 3GT and butterfly count (84 participants). The remaining 119 participants were allocated to a wait control group. Those taking part in the experimental groups undertook an activity 5 times over 8 days, while the control group were told they were on waiting list over the period. The participants had an average age of 51.5 years old and were predominately female (81%), and white (93%).
Participants in the experimental conditions reported improved nature connection, wellbeing and conservation behaviours compared to the control group after completing the activities. The open questions suggested that between a third to a half of the participants enjoyed noticing more nature, with differences between the activities. Between 9 to 13% enjoyed making a contribution to science and up to nearly a quarter reported gaining more knowledge from supporting a citizen science project. The questions also highlight barriers to participation, including inclement weather, lack of time or forgetting to complete activity, withs some noting a sense of obligation to do so. The responses also indicated improvements to nature-conservation behaviours from having taken part. With regard to the theoretical five pathways of nature connection, noticing nature via 3GT was related to contact with nature, noticing beauty and the emotional response to nature, while the compassion pathway was linked more with the citizen science activities.
The study is limited again by a common problem within nature connection related research, with a sample that suffers from self-selection bias (that is with high interest levels in nature) and a gender bias towards females. Additionally the study was undertaken during covid restrictions which may have influenced the positive aspects participants took from being outdoors in nature.
The results suggest that adding more nature-noticing elements within citizen projects may provide greater wellbeing benefits and conservation behaviours. It also highlights that activities held even over a short duration, in this case over only 8 days, can be beneficial to wellbeing. Linked to the point on conservation behaviours, I thought it was interesting that the compassion pathway correlated more with citizen science projects. Compassion is defined by two elements, the awareness of distress and the motivation to address it, so participating in citizen science projects may foster more awareness of environmental issues and perhaps increase actions to address them, which goes further than raising awareness.
Does time matter ?
While that study considered the type of activity, a very recently in-press paper (that mean it is a version made available ahead of the peer reviewed publication) by Rachel Oh and an international research team considers the duration and frequency of citizen science projects and mental wellbeing.
The authors considered 5 nature-based citizen science projects from Germany and Australia held during 2023, with an analysis sample of 253 participants. Three activities were annual events, with 49 participants collecting biodiversity data in Queensland during a 48 hour period, 68 participants monitored the quality of freshwater streams over 4 hour period in Germany, and also in Germany, 35 participants were involved with detecting invasive fish species over a 2.5 hour period in freshwater streams. The remaining two activities were held in Germany and involved 8 participants counting butterflies during a 15 minute period over 1-3 days in a week and 93 participants assessing effects of climate change on plants during a 15 minute window per week. The study considered participants nature connectedness and mental wellbeing.
The results indicated that 55% of the overall sample reported reduced negative emotions from taking part, with 42% reporting increases in positive emotions. Improvements in positive emotions, levels of stress and anxiety were statistically significant. Levels of nature connection were also raised by the activities, but only by small amount, probably due to the high baseline levels of nature connectedness of the sample. Further analysis of the citizen science projects suggests that complexity was influential on the benefits, where too much complexity appeared to reduce positive benefits. Benefits appeared to be provided from even short term activities, although it was noted that longest activity, the group based Queensland biodiversity project held over a weekend, provided more opportunities to boost wellbeing benefits from social connection in addition to nature connection.
There are limitations and it is a pre-reviewed version so the results and interpretations may change, but I thought it was interesting to see research considering different type of activities and durations. That in itself is a key limitation though, especially comparing individual based activities to group based activities, where the latter can provide wellbeing benefits from social interactions. The results do further underline that thinking about nature-based citizen science projects as being beneficial to wellbeing as well as contributing to research and raising awareness should be considered within their design.
Environmental and species monitoring is a key tool in understanding the ongoing impact to nature of climate change, especially around biodiversity loss. While there are formal ways this can be achieved, involving the general public through citizen science projects is a helpful way of gaining insight while engaging people with nature. Dave Goulson in his 2021 book Silent Earth, a modern day successor to Rachel Carson’s writing, highlights the benefit to science in taking part in citizen science projects like the Big Butterfly Count.
“You will be helping to collect valuable data on the changing populations of our insects, so helping to inform conservation strategies.”
Taking this slightly further and considering elements of nature connection within these projects may also foster mental and emotional wellbeing, as well encouraging pro-environmental and nature conservation behaviours, for those who support the activities.
Citizen science projects offer general wellbeing benefits to those take part. They help researchers understand changes in species populations and environmental conditions. And most importantly, they support nature, at a time when it needs all the help it can get.
Thanks ever so much for reading this article. All the research reviewed are open access studies, so are free to read in detail via the article links or from the references below. If you think this article would be helpful to someone else please do share on, it is a freely available public piece.
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References (all open access papers)
Butler, C. W., Hamlin, I., Richardson, M., Lowe, M., & Fox, R. (2024). Connection for conservation: The impact of counting butterflies on nature connectedness and wellbeing in citizen scientists. Biological Conservation, 292, 110497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110497
Oh, R. R., Suarez-castro, A., Fuller, R., Tervo, M., Rozario, K., Peters, B., ... & Bonn, A. (2024). Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health. bioRxiv, 2024-07. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.07.14.603425
Pocock, M. J., Hamlin, I., Christelow, J., Passmore, H. A., & Richardson, M. (2023). The benefits of citizen science and nature‐noticing activities for well‐being, nature connectedness and pro‐nature conservation behaviours. People and Nature, 5(2), 591-606. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10432