Citizen Science, Communication, and Expertise: An Examination of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center's Plastics Project

Citizen science projects have the opportunity to educate participants about environmental issues being studied first-hand and often in the field. The Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s Plastics Project utilized volunteers to collect and sort through samples of sand on beaches to estimate the abundance of plastic marine debris on beaches throughout the Puget Sound of Washington State. Volunteers were surveyed to determine if educational benefits were evident, if participants were educating others and with what frequency, what communication media were used and preferred, and who participants identified as experts. All participants reported being better educated about plastic marine and most reported changes in their consumer behavior. Participants who educated others on a regular basis also attended environmental and plastic marine debris-focused events, and interacted with experts regularly. No other demographic variables examined were able to distinguish more active educators from less active. Participants used and preferred email and in-person communication media while social media and postal mail were among the least utilized. Participants identified a wide array of experts, including university scientists and Plastics Project staff. Citizen science projects may be beneficial at inducing consumer behavior changes and educating participants, and should take care to explore lectures and other in-person communication approaches to increase opportunities for learning. Participants’ wide perception of expertise should be taken advantage of to increase opportunities for participant-expert interaction and address participant questions and concerns.