Take action on environmental issues together

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, a rise in birdwatching interest revealed our deep need to connect to nature and community during stressful times. It was a clear example of the link between social activism and engagement in the natural world.

Birdwatching (ornithology) was a privilege reserved for the elite of the country and clergy in the 18th century. Today, people from all walks have taken to it.

“Birds can easily move around. They connect people watching them in the gardens to events that are happening elsewhere,” said Finn Arne Jrgensen. EnviroCitizen project.

The hobby is very easy to pick up, and it can lead to a wealth of knowledge over time through informal collaborations among fellow ornithologists (also called “twitchers”).

Jrgensen, and the EnviroCitizen Team were interested in the ways citizen scientist cultivates environmental citizenship. They looked at how birdwatching in Europe can help develop a greater awareness and love for nature.

Birdwatching is considered one of the earliest forms of citizen science. It has always attracted members of the public to participate, such as in the annual Garden Bird CountThe public is encouraged to register all birds that they see in their gardens on a given weekend.

There’s more to ornithology that meets the eye. “Human beings have spent thousands upon thousands of years studying and thinking about birds. Jrgensen said that they allow us to tell stories about ourselves, the world around us, and our lives.”

Birdwatching can help participants develop a sense of environmental responsibility. Uniquely, EnviroCitizen does not just follow environmental science but also conducts humanistic research.

“Many citizen science initiatives tend to focus more upon the science than on the citizens, but our focus was on the volunteers,” Jrgensen, a professor of environmental history at University of Stavanger in Norway, said.

“In our instance, amateur ornithologists who engage science and community building through a love of birds and the natural environment in which they live and nature in general.”

Sometimes, birding organizations and non-governmental organizations develop social capital that can be used to secure natural habitats. It brings together both young and mature birders to exchange knowledge and share their insights.

Crowdsourced

The OptimCS Project combines the power of crowd-sourced scientific activities with artificial intelligence (AI), to preserve biodiversity and improve ecological conservation.

Citizen science has enormous data collection power, but this is a new development that can lead to inefficiency.

The project’s objective is to improve the quality and accuracy of data collected by citizen scientists.

Henrique Pereira (coordinator of the conservation program) said, “We found that participants were highly motivated to contribute towards conservation.” OptimCS.

Pereira stated that environmental citizenship is the development of a sense of allegiance among people to protect nature through participation in activities such as citizen science.

This approach will bring order and order to the messy data landscape. “In the future citizen science and other forms of AI will collaborate to improve our understanding of biodiversity.”

Local action

This is precisely what young citizens are doing in the Crowd4SDG project. It uses AI and crowdsourcing to track progress towards the project. Sustainable Development Goals by the UN.

This project focuses on climate resilience and climate issues. It also maintains a citizen science toolkit that anyone can use to launch their own CS projects. Click the link to find out more. Crowd4SDG Website.

The initiative is currently testing an innovative model of innovation to support young people in becoming social entrepreneurs for climate action. They create their projects from scratch, starting with a competitive pitch. Then they take it to the prototype stage.

Francois Grey, project leader, stated that four students from Nigeria had installed solar-powered water pumps into their communities in one case. “Using data from crowd sourcing tools, the project was able to determine where the pumps are most needed.

Sense of justice

Local political activity is driven by a passion for protecting the environment. It is also driven primarily by a sense for justice.

According to Jrgensen, environmental citizenship is when a person’s awareness of sustainability issues drives a sense o duty “because many environmental problems exist at global scales but require local community responsibility.”

People can contribute to a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle by investing their time and effort.

Jrgensen stated that environmental citizenship is more than recycling or turning off the lights. “Environmental citizenship requires a new way of thinking and acting.”