Community Science Online: Building Capacity for Native Bee Monitoring

Authors

Lauren Vilen, Colorado State University, Fort CollinsFollow
Lisa Mason, Colorado State University, Fort CollinsFollow
Sarah Viders, Colorado State University, Fort CollinsFollow
Jill Zarestky, Colorado State University - Fort CollinsFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

Vilen: 0000-0002-0920-139X

Zarestky: 0000-0003-1728-1796

Abstract

Native bees are crucial for sustainable productivity in natural, agricultural, and urban ecosystems, but they are losing natural habitat spaces. Extension can facilitate community science programs to collect ecological data on native bee populations and support pollinator conservation. Native Bee Watch, an in-person community science program, transitioned to a hybrid format where volunteers received online training and support for conducting field-based data collection. This article presents the volunteers’ perceptions of the program training, support, and bee monitoring based on surveys and data analytics collected from technology tools. Study results indicate redesign successes and challenges and provide insight on how to improve the experience for volunteers participating in community science programs, with implications for Extension education.

Recommended Citation

Vilen, L., Mason, L., Viders, S., & Zarestky, J. (2023). Community Science Online: Building Capacity for Native Bee Monitoring. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 11(2), 12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55533/2325-5226.1353

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.