“Citizen Science Among All” Participatory Bird Monitoring of the Coastal Wetland of the Limarí River, Chile

We are a group of young people interested in the protection of the coastal wetland of the Limarí River, located south of the Atacama Desert in Chile. Since 2016, we have conducted participatory monitoring to analyze the diversity of wetland birds in the Fray Jorge Biosphere Reserve. The reserve is a habitat for migratory and resident birds of national and international importance. However, this wetland faces constant anthropogenic threats, such as garbage accumulation, vehicle traffic, hunting of native fauna, among other problems. Citizen science has been our tool of choice to generate relevant information about this natural ecosystem, to enjoy and protect the wetland, to co-create strategies to improve human practices in the natural environment. Together with birdwatchers, scientists and naturalists, we have generated a list of 70 bird species for the site, quantifying the seasonal changes in richness and abundance of wetland species. But, the best results have been for each of the team members: during each visit to the wetland, we make new friends, we have a lot of fun, and we learn together about nature. This experience has empowered us to communicate with the inhabitants of the locality and to the state agencies why we should all take care of our coastal wetlands.

The above describes our local treasure, and we want to share the characteristics, acquired learning, and a little of the magic that makes this group unique in order to inform protagonists, students, regulators, and followers of citizen science.

Scientific method and development of critical thinking

This project is led by ordinary people, supported by professionals in the biological sciences. At the beginning of the project we adhered to a predetermined methodology and a question that did not come from the local group. After the first monitoring, we made the decision to continue because during each field trip we learned more and more about ecology, local biodiversity, and wetland threats, as well as about building a database for the site. This process helped us to understand the scientific method and encouraged us to develop the ability to ask questions and find answers. After collecting years of information, we had to get involved in the systematization and analysis of the data. This has been one of the biggest challenges since there are two years of monitoring, which is equivalent to many data spreadsheets! We had to sort the information, use Excel and learn about ecological concepts, such as abundance and species richness. With the information we have generated, today we can say that the coastal wetland is a dynamic environment, a habitat for waterfowl, migratory from the mountain range and Northern Hemisphere. By paying attention you can listen to the Pidencito (Laterallus jamaicensis), a threatened species, and you can see the Andean Gull (Chroicocephalus serranus), for which the wetland is home year-round. We are proud of our results and continuously question ourselves about what we want to achieve in the future. We believe that scientific information is valuable, and we see the potential in terms of scientific advances and information from a Biosphere Reserve. However, socio-environmental problems continue to threaten the wetland, and therefore we consider it a priority to work in the field, transferring the results to the local community in friendly formats. These ideas have pushed us to produce simple outreach materials that everyone can understand, such as puzzles, posters, and drawing books, and to conduct various environmental education activities with the children of the neighboring village. This experience has shown us that,

with small daily acts, we can achieve important improvements.

Collaborative learning

For the team, citizen science is not only research for the sake of collecting data. Our collective experience has allowed us to share and involve our peers and families...