This is such a great project! As a former educator, I think it would be amazing to publicize the project to get it into "classrooms" (where they exist these days) and to students, especially those doing their schooling online. This would naturally expand interest into more diverse communities; children get excited about the natural world and bring their excitement home to their families. Community naturalist groups would very likely be interested too. Here in Vancouver, BC our local naturalist group has a division dedicated to birds. I will pass on the info to friends here who belong to various local naturalist groups, for starters.                       

More people watching and studying bird cams can only improve the general public understanding, appreciation and connection to the natural world, which is so sorely needed.

Hi Chip, thanks for your question.  We are still analyzing the wealth of qualitative data that speaks to the impacts that the Bird Cams Lab experience has had on participants' thinking about, but there are some quantitative findings that may be relevant.  For example, when comparing pre-post responses for participants in the recently completed "Hawk Happenings" investigation we found greater agreement after participation with the statement "I can make valuable contributions to the scientific study of birds."  Additionally, roughly 70% of participants "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that the project taught them about the scientific process in general and, more specifically, about how co-created research projects work. It is also important to note that many of our participants have some background in science--either having worked in a scientific field previously, currently working in a scientific field, having studied science, or currently studying science--so that could be a limiting factor to the types of impacts we've been able to discern from qualitative data thus far. It is interesting to note, however, that people who are no longer working/actively studying science frequently reference the personal value associated with being able to actively contribute to science in a meaningful way. Participants have also noted that their experience tagging/classifying data during the data collection phase of each project has also led them to think more broadly about bird behavior, and move past simply identifying birds to thinking more about (and being more knowledgeable about) bird behavior. Another thing we've heard from several participants is the fact that this project has helped them to better understand the entire scientific process and the great amount of work that goes into an investigation at all stages--not just the data collection stage--and this seems to be fostering a deeper appreciation of the scientific process, even in instances where people consider themselves to be somewhat familiar with/knowledgeable about science.

Hi Nicole—great question! The Cornell Lab's K-12 Education team has developed lesson plans to utilize the cams in the classroom. You can download these "Life in a Nest" lesson plans here: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/life-in-a-nes...

These lessons aren't part of the co-created Bird Cams Lab investigations featured in this project, but there is potential in integrating co-created learning opportunities into the classroom in the future. 

Benjamin thanks for sharing the lesson plan, it is great. There are also ways to incorporate citizen science into the classroom in more informal ways. Nicole, I thought I would share a meaningful experience of mine. I taught 4th grade temporarily for 3 months at an underprivileged school with discipline challenges. We had a campaign to help students identify self-control in their communication and with emotions. I started an emotions check-in session 1-2 times a week that I started with the students watching an eagle nest cam and another involving listening to audio clips of verbal manatee communication. My classroom was full of extremely loud communicators (:P) and I found when I started the viewings, the class would go completely silent and still. I found the students would watch and listen to wildlife behavior and often identify with them on a level that they could relate without me even prompting. Some even gave insight into their family life with observations like, "that manatee sounds as hungry as I was yesterday", or "that crying baby eagle must not know where his daddy is". I wish I had had more time in that position to explore youth emotional connections to nature in the classroom. I know this doesn't relate directly to curriculum but understanding student well-being is vital to classroom management!

Hi Heather! Your experience with the cams is so interesting to me. Over the years I have heard of many teachers using the cams as a way to "settle down" students as they enter the classroom, but hearing the expressions from your students as they watch the cams is so eye-opening, especially when they are sharing personal information. I imagine it would take a skilled educator to navigate those conversations in a way that feels safe for everyone.

We've never really framed the cams as a potential connection to emotional well-being in youth but there is no reason to believe this can't happen. In fact, we hear from many adult participants that the cams bring them solace and joy and even help with depression. As with many NSF projects, we often focus on the outcomes related to science learning and engagement, sometimes at the expense of other equally important outcomes like character development and well-being. Thank you for reminding us that these experiences affect participants in myriad ways and it is our job as researchers and leaders to document and share both the intended and unintended outcomes! 

Hi Joan - when we averaged demographics for the different Bird Cams Lab investigations, we found that more than half fall between ages 55-74. While there are some enthusiastic younger birders, people under age 35 account for just 10% of participants.

These statistics also reflect the demographics of who engages with Bird Cams content on Facebook, as the majority of our engaged audience is above 55. Our other platforms (Instagram, YouTube) reach a higher proportion younger audiences. 

Thanks for you question Nancy - I really appreciate the fact that you note the potential not only for impacts on participants within the general public, but also impacts on the scientists involved in the project. Admittedly, the evaluation and research plan for this project was more focused on outcomes among members of lay audiences, however we have anecdotally heard from scientists that this experience has changed the way they are thinking about the design and implementation of investigations--including an openness to more input and valuing the potential contributions that can be made by others. Among members of the lay audiences who participate, we are looking for gains in general and specific knowledge (related to birds and science in general), and changes in behavior (including patterns of programmatic participation and other behaviors related to, but not directly a part of, programmatic experiences). These impacts are being studied through analysis of participation artifacts, through pre- and post-participation surveys, and participant interviews.

Thanks for your feedback and your idea to increase diversity via partnerships with under-served schools. If we had the chance to test out Bird Cams Lab in a K-12 setting, I think that would be the way to do it. While we focused on tailing Bird Cams Lab to adult informal learners, the research team has repeatedly been excited by the possibilty of Bird Cams Lab in the classroom. 

Thanks for sharing Shihadah! This project has prompted me to start watching the cams with my own daughter and pay more attention to birds in my neighborhood. I've had the (silly?) revelation that birds are EVERYWHERE once you pay attention, and it's cool that you you can do these observations anywhere. Like you said - even in NYC.

Thanks for your questions and suggestions, Christopher. I would love to see if Bird Cams Lab could work for K-12 classrooms or to understand what would need to be adapted to make projects suitable in those contexts. I imagine it could be a lot of fun, and a new way to experience the process of science, for classrooms to observe a cam together and pick their own questions for investigation, or to collaborate with other classrooms around the country. We also want to seek partners who can collaborate with us to create experiences with Bird Cams that are relevant to their communities; thank you very much for the specific suggestions about HBCUs, HSIs, and Black Birders Associations.

Thanks for the great comments and recommendations Christopher!  While this project wasn't focused on use in K-12 educational contexts, we did heard from many participants who independently incorporated the cams and aspects of Bird Cams Lab into both formal and informal learning experience with K-12 learners. The outcomes of those efforts suggest a k-12-targed iteration of Bird Cams Lab could be a valuable instructional resource/experience.  

The team has also brainstormed ways to incorporate more participants form diverse backgrounds (e.g., possibly through connections to groups/organizations (e.g., BlackAFInSTEM and/or Unlikely Hikers) that share interest in STEM and Ornithology. I don't think we'd considered outreach to HBCUs and HSIs. That is a wonderful idea and the recommendation is much appreciated!

Thanks for commenting, Alexa! That's awesome. Zooniverse continues to be a platform for all types of discovery, and it has been a pleasure working with their team on various investigations. I'm happy to hear that your utilizing their projects in the classroom. 

Thanks for your comment Jennifer. Having spoken to dozens of project participants over the lifetime of this project in series of participant interviews, I can attest to people's happiness and enjoyment from this project. As a long-time informal science project evaluator I've often seen engagement, but this is a project where I've seen a consistently high level of passion among participants. This experience has given people a unique opportunity to more fully engage in the scientific process and contribute to scientific discovery - and it has given them something safe and stimulating to do while they've been stuck at home for most of the past year. Thanks again for stopping by to take a look at our video.   

Thanks for your question, Shihadah! We enable anyone to download the data sets so participants can analyze do further explorations on their own if they wish. Although our project was focused on creating a proof of concept system, there is potential to extend the methods and technology to long-term wildlife cam networks, and if this happened, longitudinal studies could yield some interesting insights over time. For example, participants may log what kinds of prey seabirds or Ospreys are bringing to their nest, indicating how fish populations may be shifting in response to climate change or other factors through the decades.

Thank you for contributing, Delbert!

Thanks for your comment, Patricia. It has also been interesting to see how participants interact differently with the various stages within an investigation. We've had a number of super contributors that are really invested in the project from beginning to end, and then we have participants that may only be interested in certain aspects, like data collection or question asking. Were excited to dig deeper into these different phases of participation and how they related to learning outcomes during the final evaluation. 

We plan to include copies of our instruments along with reporting that is forthcoming this summer. Each set of surveys (administered at the start and end of each co-created research experience) has included questions about participants' behaviors and beliefs related to bird cams, citizen science experiences, and co-created research. The surveys have also incorporated a series of knowledge questions that relate to the specific birds being studied in each investigation as well as questions that explore participants' understanding of the scientific process (e.g., making observations or developing questions that can be answered effectively through scientific investigation). If you email me at jennifer@rockman.com I would also be happy to share survey instruments with you via email.  

That's a great point. Many participants have commented on the important role that studying birds via bird cam investigations can have on people's appreciation for nature. Additionally, many participants have noted the ability of these investigative experiences to help people understand the impacts of environmental changes on wildlife - which can, in turn, foster greater interest in environmental stewardship. Many participants have also noted that they have moved beyond an interest in merely identifying different types of birds to being more knowledgeable and interested in bird behavior.  When they watch their own feeders or see birds elsewhere, they are more inclined to observe the types of things that the birds are doing - and have more knowledge with which to interpret some of the behaviors they are seeing.  So yes, in short, this experience does seem to have impacts on participants' understanding and appreciation for birds and the environments we share with them.  

Hello Manoj—

Thanks for your enthusiasm! We can send along some general information about how we go about setting up our livestreaming cameras and some things to keep in mind—please send an inquiry to birdcams@cornell.edu and we'll reply. Thanks again!