Incorporating citizen science into environmental studies for non-science oriented students

Abstract

This project aims to incorporate citizen science in teaching introductory course on environmental studies (POL2225 Intro to Env Studies / SEE3001 Energy and Env Policy) to CityU undergraduate students. Citizen science categorizes activities by non-scientists who engage in data collection for creating scientific knowledge on the environment. Those activities are featured by diffused knowledge generation and collective learning by the general public who may experience those sustainability challenges. Guided by the course leader, students in SEE3001 will form groups (4-5 students each) and choose a sustainability challenge faced by Hong Kong, such as light pollution for conducting their citizen science projects. Adopting a participatory project design and evaluation approach, students will learn to formulate their own protocol for field data collection and also to construct survey questions for evaluating their learning engagement and outcomes. By sharing the field data on an online platform and findings at the workshop entitled "Citizen Scientists for Hong Kong's Sustainability," the project can enhance mutual learning and improve students' communication and analytical skills. The localized knowledge generated from the student citizen science projects will help advance our understanding of Hong Kong's sustainability challenges and facilitate solution finding.