[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9416\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EBirdwatchers of the world \u2013 unite and take environmental action\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the 18th century, birdwatching (or ornithology) was mostly an activity for privileged country gentlemen and members of the clergy. Now, in the 21st century it has been embraced by people from all walks of life.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Birds are fascinating because they can easily move around \u2013 they connect people watching them in their gardens to things that are happening elsewhere,\u2019 said Finn Arne J\u00f8rgensen leader of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/872557\u0022\u003EEnviroCitizen\u003C\/a\u003E project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe hobby can be taken up very easily and has the potential to generate a deep knowledge over time through informal collaborations with fellow ornithologists (also fondly known as \u201ctwitchers\u201d).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EJ\u00f8rgensen and the EnviroCitizen team were interested in the ways citizen science cultivates environmental citizenship. They studied how birdwatching activities across Europe help to develop a broader awareness and love of nature.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESeen as one of the origins of citizen science, birdwatching has historically drawn members of the public to participate in scientific studies, such as in the annual \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.envirocitizen.eu\/blog\/\u0022\u003EGarden Bird Count\u003C\/a\u003E, where members of the public are encouraged to register all the birds they see in their garden on a particular weekend.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EYet, there\u2019s more to ornithology than meets the eye. \u2018Human beings have spent thousands of years observing and thinking about birds. They allow us to tell stories about ourselves and the world we live in,\u2019 said J\u00f8rgensen.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe act of birdwatching develops a sense of environmental citizenship in participants. Uniquely, the EnviroCitizen doesn\u2019t just follow the environmental science, it conducts humanistic research.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Many citizen science projects tend to focus more on the science than the citizens, but we concentrated on the volunteers,\u2019 said J\u00f8rgensen, who is professor of environmental history at the University of Stavanger, Norway.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In our case, amateur ornithologists, who engage in science and community building through their love of birds and their living environment, and nature in general.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EHuman beings have spent thousands of years observing and thinking about birds. They allow us to tell stories about ourselves and the world we live in.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EFinn Arne J\u00f8rgensen, EnviroCitizen\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBirding organisations and NGOs sometimes go on to develop social capital which can be leveraged to secure space for the natural environments. It also brings together young people and more mature twitchers to share insights and transfer knowledge.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECrowd-sourced\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe OptimCS project tries to combine the power of crowd-sourced scientific activity with artificial intelligence (AI) to protect biodiversity and improve ecological conservation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe data collection power of citizen science is enormous, but as citizen science at this scale is a new development, there is a great deal of inefficiency in this process.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe project\u2019s goal is to improve the quality of data being collected and analysed by citizen scientists.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EEnvironmental citizenship is the development of a feeling of allegiance in people for the protection of nature through engagement in activities like citizen science.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EHenrique Pereira, OptimCS\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We found that participants are highly motivated to contribute to conservation,\u2019 said Henrique Pereira, coordinator of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/891052\u0022\u003EOptimCS\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Environmental citizenship,\u2019 said Pereira, \u2018Is the development of a feeling of allegiance in people for the protection of nature through engagement in activities like citizen science.\u2019\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe approach will bring order to the unruly data landscape. \u2018In future, citizen science and various forms of AI will work together to help further our understanding of biodiversity.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELocal action\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is precisely this what young citizens are doing in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/872944\u0022\u003ECrowd4SDG\u003C\/a\u003E project. It uses crowd-sourcing and AI to monitor progress towards the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\u0022\u003EUN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe project has particular focus on climate issues and climate resilience. It is also providing and maintaining a citizen science tool kit so anyone can launch their own CS project. Follow the link to learn more from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/crowd4sdg.eu\/about-2\/tools\/\u0022\u003Ethe Crowd4SDG website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe initiative is currently testing a new model for innovation to help young people become social entrepreneurs for climate action. They create their own projects, starting with a competitive pitch and taking it to the working prototype stage.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EMore than just recycling or turning off the lights, environmental citizenship requires new ways of thinking and acting.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EFinn Arne J\u00f8rgensen, EnviroCitizen\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In one case four Nigerian students introduced solar powered water pumps into their communities,\u2019 said project leader Francois Grey. \u2018Using data gathered from crowd sourcing tools developed by the project to show where the pumps are most urgently needed.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESense of justice\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA passion for protecting the environment provides the driving force behind political activity at the local level. It is also driven by a sense of justice.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEnvironmental citizenship forms according to J\u00f8rgensen, when an awareness of sustainability issues drives a sense of duty \u2018because many environmental problems and their effects exist at global scales yet require local community responsibility.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBy investing time and effort, and by working together with companies, local authorities and the NGO sector, people contribute to a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way of living.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018More than just recycling or turning off the lights,\u2019 said J\u00f8rgensen, \u2018Environmental citizenship requires new ways of thinking and acting.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Ch5\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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