Teaching kids about bugs benefits the environment
Pro-environmental behaviour increases among school students who participate in insect-related citizen science projects, according to new research from the University of 米兰电子.
Credit: Encounter Lutheran College.
Students who participated in citizen science project听, which engages students in the discovery of new insects, not only听expressed an intention to听change听their personal behaviour but also听to encourage others to protect nature.
鈥淎s a result of their involvement in this program, students expressed intentions to further engage in insect鈥搒cience鈥搉ature activities,鈥 says the University of 米兰电子鈥檚 Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries, who contributed to .
鈥淚n addition, teachers reported increased intentions to include insect-related topics in their teaching, which was positively associated with students' own intentions for pro-environmental behaviour change.
鈥淭his suggests students鈥 response to the project influenced their teacher鈥檚 decision to include citizen science in their lessons.鈥
School-based citizen science projects facilitate authentic scientific interactions between research and educational institutions while exposing students to scientific processes.
鈥淭eachers鈥 motivations for providing citizen science experiences to students was to create hands-on learning opportunities and to connect students with real science and scientists,鈥 says Professor Patrick O鈥機onnor AM, Director of the University鈥檚 School of Economics and Public Policy.
鈥Teachers reported interactions with researchers as invaluable. These interactions could take the form of in-person visits by team members, or even instructional videos and curriculum-linked teacher lesson plans.鈥
University of the Sunshine Coast's Dr Andy Howe leading Mount Molloy students. Credit: Zarah-Rae Budgen.
Incorporating insects into school-based citizen science projects can challenge widespread human misconceptions about insects and their roles in ecosystems, and foster human鈥搃nsect connections.
鈥淕iven global concerns of rapid insect declines and the overarching biodiversity crisis, insect-focused, school-based citizen science projects can ultimately contribute towards equipping students with knowledge of, and actions to promote, insect conservation,鈥 says lead author Dr Andy Howe, from the University of the Sunshine Coast.
鈥淚n Australia, approximately 33 per cent of insects are formally described, the remainder exist as 鈥榙ark taxa鈥, to the detriment of environmental and biodiversity management initiatives.
鈥淓ncouraging more young people to engage in science not only engenders positive feelings in them towards the environment, it will also help to build the next generation of scientists who will fill in the vast knowledge gap that exists in the world of insects.鈥
Media contact:
Dr Erinn Fagan-Jeffries, Invertebrate Systematics and Biodiversity Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of 米兰电子. Phone: +61 0405 426 727 Email: erinn.fagan-jeffries@adelaide.edu.au
Professor Patrick O鈥機onnor, Director, Centre for Global Food and Resources, School of Economics and Public Policy, University of 米兰电子. Phone: +61 8 8313 1039 Email: patrick.oconnor@adelaide.edu.au
Johnny von Einem, Senior Media Officer, University of 米兰电子. Phone: +61 0481 688 436, Email: johnny.voneinem@adelaide.edu.au
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