Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Jessica Aquino (1), Sandra M. Granquist (2,3), Deisi Maricato (4) and Cécile Chauvat (3,5)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Hólar University, Iceland 2. Marine and Freshwater Research Institute 3. The Icelandic Seal Center, 4. University of Iceland 5. Northwest Iceland Nature Research Centre
Kynnir / Presenter: Sandra M. Granquist
Youth for Arctic Nature (YAN) is an international science-based wildlife monitoring and environmental education project aimed at youth 5-30 years-old. The aim is to actively engage youth in the study of nature and climate change in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas. By cooperating closely with local scientists, the project also aims to involve youth in generating essential and significant monitoring data that will feed directly into ongoing scientific monitoring programs. This poster describes a community-based approach to create international connections between youth groups, scientist, and local communities for wildlife monitoring and nature-based educational activities. Methods used to reach the goals of the project will be described, including approaches to cooperate with local scientists to design monitoring schemes and collect wildlife monitoring data; development and use of the project app; and the importance of taking nature pedagogy into consideration. Results of the project suggest, among others, that including youth can be efficient in terms of collecting some type of nature data and that such activities can lead to increased interest and knowledge among the youth. Further, although a monitoring app can be useful for data gathering and reporting of results, youth groups found that a place-based approach towards monitoring and reporting was more effective in connecting to scientists and nature. Future prospects of the project will be suggested.