Education and Community Outreach

Help citizen scientists understand their environment and promote scientific outreach activities

Bioacoustics can drive environmental community outreach and education initiatives, including citizen science programs, bat walks, and soundscape studies – strengthening environmental stewardship.

Challenges of Scientific Outreach Activities

Lack of Accessibility

Manual data collection can be costly and requires significant investments in training time and resources, which makes it largely inaccessible for the general population.

Lack of Expertise

Many citizen scientists lack the expertise needed to accurately identify certain species, resulting in misidentification and skewed data. What’s more, it would take years of training and education for volunteers to obtain the proper skills.

Lack of Engagement

Traditional forms of nature education are hands-off, creating a disconnect between participants and the species or environment they are studying.

Additional Resources

How Bioacoustics Tools Solve These Challenges

Participation

Acoustic recorders support citizen science efforts by generating interest and increasing participation among students and community members.

Connection

Bioacoustics recorders are a powerful tool for bridging the gap between sound, the natural world, and those studying it – allowing everyday enthusiasts to connect more deeply with nature.

Engagement

Wildlife audio monitoring allows participants to be directly involved without investing significant amounts of time and resources. Capabilities like real-time species identification keep field surveyors engaged throughout the research process.