Enhancing Stewardship and Sustainability

Citizen, community, participatory, or backyard science (hereinafter referred to as citizen science) has evolved from just a means to connect local communities to scientific research, to being actively used in a wide range of research efforts. There are many benefits to using citizen science, such as creating more environmental awareness, increasing the interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, and generating cost-effective labor; however, there are several perceived limitations. One limitation is that citizen science data is often viewed as inferior or unusable by the broader science community. Some of the primary concerns to the usability of citizen science data are the inherently different levels of background knowledge paired with training levels across participants. Another limitation is the recruitment, and more importantly, the retention of volunteers participating in the data collection process. To further understand how external factors could affect the accuracy of citizen science (such as training level and background knowledge) and potentially influence participation motivations (such as perceptions, background knowledge, and demographics), I will evaluate the accuracy and reliability of two different marine debris data collection protocols by trained volunteers and determine the influence upon their individual recruitment and retention.

Citizen science in the environmental realm plays an important role in education and awareness. Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) has supported citizen science efforts by funding kits and supplies for the coastal volunteers of Alabama Water Watch (AWW), an organization whose main functions are education and gathering long-term water quality data throughout Alabama. MBNEP is also working alongside AWW to strategically recruit and grow the program even further on the coast. While hurdles to the long-term commitment of volunteers remain, there are many volunteers that have been involved and collected data for over a decade. The impact the program has had on their lives and awareness will be highlighted.

Title: Addressing Pathogen Pollution through Youth-Focused Participatory Science 
Since 2021, the 4-H Alabama Water Watch Program, which is part of the Auburn University Water Resources Center, has been piloting the project, Exploring and Mitigating Pathogen Pollution in Our Waters, which is funded by the NOAA Bays Watershed Education Training (B-WET) Program. Through the project, 4-H AWW has trained over 40 Alabama and Mississippi educators to utilize the project curriculum, Exploring Pathogen Pollution in Our Waters, to lead students in Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) focused on understanding, detecting, and mitigating pathogen pollution in local waters. These educators have engaged more than 1,500 elementary, middle, and high school students with the project, which includes bacteriological monitoring bacteria of local waterbodies to detect fecal contamination. Participating schools have submitted over 100 data records to the AWW database.  
Through this project, students gain real-life experience with data collection, analysis, science communication, problem identification, and development of strategies to address water quality issues. They understand and appreciate participatory science and its important role in water quality monitoring, protection, and restoration. The project is effectively addressing the Gulf of Mexico Alliance's Education and Engagement Priority by increasing environmental literacy and encouraging watershed stewardship in the Gulf of Mexico Region, and it is contributing to the goals of the Water Resources Priority, which include the use of science and technology to protect human, aquatic, and economic health in the Gulf Region.  
The goals of this presentation are to 1) provide a project overview that includes outcomes and findings, 2) highlight challenges and benefits of engaging school groups in local watershed management efforts, 3) encourage collaboration between conference participants and local youth organizations like 4-H AWW, and 4) initiate a conversation surrounding how water resource professionals in the Gulf Coast Region can better guide and support high school students who have an interest in working in water related fields. 
 

Since 2015, the City of Mobile has implemented several types of litter capturing devices, including litter traps, catch basin screens, booms, litter gitters, and litter interceptors, to help capture and remove litter from our local waterways. Because the City of Mobile is situated in a unique watershed, it is imperative to implement ordinances, cleanup events, and projects that will help sustain, conserve, and even restore our various waterways. The resiliency of the City's litter program can be attributed to public and private partnerships. Through data driven methods, Osprey Initiative has been able to provide the City with litter hotspot data, ETAP reports, and many litter removal events. Originally, the City maintained 139 welded screens installed on storm drain inlets along the Mardi Gras parade routes. Following a pilot project to test Litter Interceptors, the City implemented a capital project to install an extra 79 Litter Interceptors. With EPA grant funding an additional 26 were installed and plan to install 20 more with its current grant. The current grant includes 8 new litter boom locations and is scheduled for installation by September 2025. While the City of Mobile and Osprey Initiative will continue to strive for a litter free city, our citizens must also recognize the consequences of littering behaviors to continue the progress being made against pollution in our local waters.