Abstract: Participatory science projects have a unique opportunity to contribute to research and conservation through actively involving the public in the scientific process. Many volunteer survey efforts capture programmatic feedback, but do not assess volunteer motivations to address additional conservation impact beyond scientific data collection.
Adventure Scientists, in collaboration with scientific partners, mobilizes and trains volunteers to collect high-quality scientific data, while evaluating volunteer impact and motivation. Volunteers from a nationwide timber tracking study completed an online survey using Likert scale questions to assess their motivations to volunteer and the level of conservation impact they had upon project completion. We analyzed 124 surveys using standard data exploratory practices. Results show that the primary motivation to volunteer was personal interest in the project’s learning outcomes: conservation and illegal logging (54%). Following project participation, volunteers took greater short-term (81%) and long-term conservation actions (27%). Additionally, the majority of respondents reported having an impact at the scientific (87%), local (71%), and national levels (76%) through sampling with the project.These metrics are used to directly inform volunteer engagement and recruitment strategies, and refine educational goals that help increase participation and retention. By involving the public in the scientific process, participatory science projects have the potential for large-scale impact beyond data collection.
