A case study from the City Nature Challenge 2018: international comparison of participants’ responses to citizen science in action

Citizen and community science is an important approach for advancing research, education, and conservation, and currently, various projects are being implemented and trialled worldwide. We conducted surveys of participants in the City Nature Challenge, an international event in which participants engaged in monitoring wildlife and plants in their neighbourhoods. We received responses from 361 participants representing 12 countries including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. There were significant differences in terms of socio-demographic attributes and participants’ perceptions of citizen/community science activities. Regression analysis revealed that the more participants learned about the animals and plants in their areas, the more they self-reported their intention to participate in similar activities in the future in both the United States and Japan. This suggests that managers of citizen/community science projects could tailor the message and contents of the activities to enhance participants’ learning about local biodiversity to increase their continued involvement in future events. Key policy insights In both the United States and Japan, the more participants learned about the animals and plants in their local area through citizen/community science activities, the more they were willing to participate in similar activities in the future. Cross-cultural comparison of participants in citizen/community science activities revealed significant differences in terms of socio-demographic attributes (e.g. participants in Japan and Malaysia were younger than those in the United States and the United Kingdom). Survey results revealed differences in participants’ perceptions of the citizen/community science activities (e.g. participants from Malaysia were more likely to be aware of the threats to animals and plants in their neighbourhood than those in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom).