Community Science Participation in Ottawa County Parks through Butterfly Monitoring
Introduction
Butterflies could change the way communities operate around the world. These beautiful, flying insects have the ability to indicate environmental health of the community parks that humanity enjoys everyday (Chowdhury et al., 2023). If communities were given the opportunity to take surveys of butterflies as they walk along a predetermined path, individuals would be contributing important ecosystem data to the community while enjoying the outdoors. The raw data collected would help environmental research as there is always a need for data to observe and record the natural world over time.
This is exactly what I am proposing as a next step for Ottawa County Parks. This organization has numerous parks and open spaces, but none of them include butterfly paths. By incorporating butterfly monitoring into Ottawa County Parks, they can encourage community engagement through citizen science. This endeavor provides me the opportunity to connect with the residents in Ottawa County to explore which barriers may hinder their participation in community conservation activities or aspects that spark their interest in volunteering for a meaningful cause. This useful community survey would help inform the Michigan Butterfly Network of the best ways to encourage community engagement within Ottawa County to expand the project.
Research Question
What obstacles prevent participation in community science in Ottawa County?
Within my research, I would like to incorporate the creation of a butterfly pathway within one of the Ottawa County Parks as a way to see how community involvement responds.
This would open up more opportunities for community science and provide informative population data to the Michigan Butterfly Network about Ottawa County.
Literature Review
Importance of Butterflies
Butterfly abundance and presence in an ecosystem gives foundational data to conservation professionals.
Butterflies are sensitive to climatic changes and anthropocentric influences on the environment (Chowdhury et. al., 2023).
Spreading the word about butterflies in our community has the ability to spark engagement in conservation activities.
Benefits of Community Science Data
Provides a large scale dataset for research over time.
Spreads the word about conservation volunteer opportunities.
Provides a learning environment.
Encourages engagement.
Positively influences ecosystem management practices.
(Lewandowski & Oberhauser, 2017)
Environmental Values and Perceptions
Exploring our community's environmental values and perceptions will help in the process of creating a beneficial butterfly monitoring pathway that serves our community's needs.
Motivation factors include:
Helping the environment
Learning about the environment
Social aspects including meeting new people
Values and esteem
Clear project organization
Career options
Caring for nature spaces a person uses frequently
(Bruyere & Rappe, 2007)
North American Butterfly Monitoring Network
Their goals are to track all North American butterfly monitoring, standardize protocols as much as possible, develop or enhance data management systems, share data, expand program participation, and develop analytical tools (The North American Butterfly Monitoring Network).
Filling in the Gap
There is a lack of social research regarding the factors that increase participation in environmental citizen science and volunteer events in Ottawa County.
My research will attempt to learn more about the community's environmental values and practices. This information will help the Michigan Butterfly Network advance their methods of increasing participation.
Methods: Three Step Process
- Interview Michigan Butterfly Network Staff
An interview with the Butterfly Network Coordinator at the Michigan Butterfly Network would allow for open ended conversation about community science research and participation issues.
The main takeaways from the interview will be focused on throughout the rest of the research process. This will allow for the most beneficial information to be gathered.
2. Conduct a Survey
Sending out questionaries to Ottawa County residents and having an online option available.
This will collect information on environmental values and perceptions of participation in conservation activities within the community.
Random sampling will occur to aim for accurate representative data.
3. Create Butterfly Monitoring Pathway
Designating a transect of a specific distance and marking it on Google Earth. This is how we will send the information to the Michigan Butterfly Network for approval.
This will be achieved with the help of the Stewardship Supervisor at Ottawa County Parks, Tyler Allyn-White. He knows which areas would be best for the butterfly pathway.
References
Bruyere, B., & Rappe, S. (2007). Identifying the motivations of environmental volunteers. Journal of Environmental Planning & Management, 50(4), 503-516.
Chowdhury, S., Dubey, V. K., Choudhury, S., Das, A., Jeengar, D., Sujatha, B., Kumar, A., Kumar, N., Semwal, A., & Kumar, V. (2023). Insects as bioindicator: A hidden gem for environmental monitoring. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1146052
Lewandowski, E. J., & Oberhauser, K. S. (2017). Butterfly citizen scientists in the United States increase their engagement in conservation. Biological Conservation, 208(1), 106-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.07.029
The North American Butterfly Monitoring Network. (n.d.). Goals. https://www.thebutterflynetwork.org/goals
