Opening the door to science for all
Researchers are working to make participatory science projects more welcoming for everyone.
A Downy Woodpecker, the smallest woodpecker in North America, at a bird feeder. Males have a distinguishing red patch on the head, pictured above. Photo courtesy of Holly Yacko.
When Ashley Dayer, professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, talks about her work, she starts with a simple idea: Everyone deserves a chance to take part in science.
That belief inspired a new study from Dayer’s lab in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment that explores how to make one of North America’s largest bird observation programs – Project FeederWatch – welcoming to everyone who enjoys feeding and watching birds.
Run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada, FeederWatch invites participants across the U.S. and Canada to report bird activity in their backyards. The project connects people to nature while contributing to decades of data about bird populations.
Despite its reach, FeederWatch, like many participatory science programs, tends to engage a narrow audience. Dayer and postdoctoral researcher Kelley Langhans, the study’s lead author, partnered with colleagues from Cornell University, North Carolina State University, and The Ohio State University to understand how the project could better reflect the broader community of people who feed birds.
“Participatory science has been a great success for research,” Dayer said. “We know more about birds and ecosystems because of public contributions. But not everyone feels these projects are designed for them, which limits their benefits and creates data gaps. Our goal was to identify ways to change that.”
“Participatory science is about science and people,” said David Bonter, co-director of the Center for Science and Engagement at Cornell. “This study provides vital information for helping us understand how to engage more people in observation, learning, and sharing information about the natural world.”
The study, published Nov. 11 in Citizen Science: Theory and Practice, recommends that FeederWatch collaborate with community organizations, develop educational resources to support participant learning, and clearly show participants how their data support conservation.
Participating in science from home
For many, observing nature from home offers an easy entry into science. Feeding birds and recording observations can provide meaningful connection to nature and contribute to data used by conservation scientists worldwide.
Langhans and Virginia Tech graduate students, including co-author Chris Blume, hosted online focus groups with people who already feed birds but don’t participate in FeederWatch. With help from organizations that promote welcoming outdoor spaces, the team explored opportunities and challenges to making the project more inclusive.
Participants appreciated FeederWatch’s flexibility and the ability to take part from home. The program’s structure — allowing people to collect data on their own time — helps those with busy schedules or limited mobility connect with nature and contribute to science.
Many also spoke about the joy that participation brings. Counting birds offers a chance to notice nature, engage curiosity, and make a meaningful contribution to environmental research.
Supporting participation
Some participants saw the annual fee as a barrier, while others mentioned the need for adaptive technology or materials in additional languages. In response, the research team focused on how the project itself could adapt.
“When we think about growing participation, it’s about designing the project to be welcoming to everyone,” Langhans said. “Adjustments such as waiving fees, creating user-friendly digital tools, and increasing representation in staff and materials can open the door to a wider range of participants.”
By focusing on project design, Dayer said, participatory science programs can reach more people and produce stronger, more representative data.
“When more people take part, the science gets better,” Dayer said.
Democratizing discovery
Participatory science invites anyone with curiosity and time to help advance research. Projects like FeederWatch have transformed ecology by generating millions of observations that help scientists monitor species and environmental change.
When done well, these programs also benefit participants — growing skills, addressing local needs, and creating a sense of belonging and purpose. Dayer sees this as a return to participatory science’s original promise: to democratize discovery.
“Science should be open to everyone,” she said. “Participatory science was designed to give people the tools to observe the world around them and know they’re contributing to something larger.”
From data to healing
For Dayer, the impact of this work goes beyond research. After her mother underwent a heart transplant, one of the first things Dayer did was help her mother return to watching the bird feeders at her home.
“Watching the birds brought her peace,” Dayer said. “It was something she could do every day — to sit outside, notice what was around her, and feel connected again. That’s the heart of participatory science. It’s more than data. It’s about what those experiences mean for people.”
This spirit reflects the college's mission to connect people and the natural world through learning and stewardship.
A more welcoming future
Through their partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Dayer and Langhans are sharing their findings with participatory science programs nationwide. The team hopes the recommendations will guide future adaptations that make science more welcoming, flexible, and relevant to people’s lives.
Dayer’s team is expanding who gets to take part in discovery while showing how welcoming science strengthens communities.
“When everyone has the chance to participate,” Langhans said, “science truly becomes a shared endeavor. That’s how we all learn more about our world.”
Original study: DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.874
