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Challenges and successes in engaging citizen scientists to observe snow cover: from public engagement to an educational collaboration

This resource evaluates different strategies for using citizen science to collect observational data on snow disappearance in the Pacific Northwest. The most successful strategy was found to be a collaborative education campaign, which met the project’s dual goals of generating useful data for a study on the influence of forest cover on snow disappearance timing, and acting as an effective public engagement tactic.

Aim of the resource

This resource compares the benefits and costs of three citizen science engagement strategies (professional networking, public outreach, and collaborative education campaign) in achieving the scientific and social goals of a project.

Potential benefits from using the resource
Concretely documents actions taken during implementation of the three strategies, and compares the positive or negative results of each
Potential limitations from using the resource
Each distinct strategy was only implemented for one season, so the resource is based on a study over the course of three seasons, without repetition
Sub/region where used
Scale of application
National
UN languages in which the resource is available
United States Geological Survey
Is the resource freely available?
Yes
Do you want to add more details?
Yes

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