Ensuring monitoring schemes are engaging and feasible for volunteers to participate in is essential in enabling them to gather quality biodiversity data.
We are focusing on understanding the needs, motivations, and behaviour of volunteers to ensure that recommended changes to schemes are effectively implemented, while also engaging with volunteers to support an evidence-based approach to evaluation.
We have developed a Terrestrial Surveillance Development and Analysis (TSDA) focus group of volunteers, who are consulted on development and analysis tasks to trial tools, provide feedback, and express preferences. If you wish to hear about future opportunities to get involved as a volunteer, please sign up to the mailing list.
Examples of recent and upcoming TSDA projects that have worked with volunteers:
- A survey of volunteers to understand their interest and motivations for recording information about habitats.
- Development of the Targeting Revisits Maps
- Exploring the potential for recording additional metadata alongside dragonfly unstructured data collection.
- Exploring how personalised automated feedback can be used to enhance the recorder experience.
Phase 1 TSDA work on recorder engagement focused on understanding recruitment and retention in citizen science.
The UK Terrestrial Evidence Partnership of Partnership (UKTEPoP) also works more broadly towards engaging volunteers from a diversity of backgrounds in biological recording, collaborating on diversity, equity and inclusion.
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