Exploring How Citizen Science Can Enhance Conservation

Exploring How Citizen Science Can Enhance Conservation

Presenter:   Danah Duke (B.Sc., M.Sc.)

Date:              April 10, 2017

Time:              12 - 1pm

Location:      Conference Room ‘A’, Husky Conference Centre, Calgary, AB

                             Plus 30 level, 707-8th Avenue SW (take the escalator up two flights)

Webinar:      Link will be posted day of event

  CCP:              This presentation entitles ASPB members to earn 1 Professional Development Hour

                            Registration is not required for this event

Description:

Citizens are facing complex conservation challenges. Stronger sustainable solutions engage citizens in better understanding the issue, contributing personal knowledge and experience, and implementation. From an ecological conservation perspective, new collaborations and ways of considering knowledge production are critical if we are to address complex challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. In addition, citizens are demanding the incorporation of principles of accessibility, transparency, and accountability within government agencies and decision-making.

Citizen science offers an approach that can change the way information is generated and shared, improving accessibility, transparency, and credibility of the information.  Citizen science can also lead to improved research questions, enhance collaboration and ultimately improved environmental stewardship.

A 2015 inventory showed that there are 82 citizen science initiatives in Alberta. Most of these are contributory and focus on biodiversity issues. There are immense opportunities to increase the use of citizen science to address diverse environmental challenges in Alberta. However, there are often barriers to implementation and sustainability. Some of these challenges include perception barriers, volunteer bias, program sustainability and volunteer retention.

The Miistakis Institute has been designing and implementing citizen science initiatives to address conservation challenges in Alberta for the past decade. Through many successes and a few failures we have learned many valuable lessons related to program design, tool usability, volunteer recruitment, program sustainability and evaluation.

Biography:

Danah has been the Executive Director of the Miistakis Institute for the past 15 years. The Miistakis Institute is a not for profit environmental research institute affiliated with Mount Royal University in Calgary Alberta. Miistakis scientifically investigates environmental challenges, analyzes policy implications, develops decision support tools, and catalyzes community conservation action to realize environmental benefits and outcomes. Her role as the ED of Miistakis puts Danah at the interface between academia, policy and decision-making and community conservation. Through her tenure at Miistakis, Danah has developed skills in various conservation related disciplines that include policy analysis, research design, wildlife management, transportation ecology, citizen science and ecosystem services. Her experience also includes non-profit management and governance, facilitation and collaboration and community engagement. Danah holds M.Sc. in Environmental Biology and Ecology at the University of Alberta and a B.Sc. in Biology from McMaster University.

The ASPB is not responsible for the content of this presentation; the information and views expressed by the presenter(s) are their own.