Scientific Citizenship

Like many of the beaches on the Oregon
coast this time of year, Karen's site
(Seven Devils Wayside) is filled with
undulating dunes of sand. That is, until
the winter storms set in

Back in the mid-nineteen nineties, science and technology scholars Alan Irwin and Brian Wynne first coined the term “scientific citizenship” to describe what they believed was a necessary form of public engagement in the twenty-first century. Even then, Irwin and Wynne (1996) noted that science and scientific research was driving so much of our modern societies, from medical advances and engineering inventions to novel environmental management and adaptation, all the way to the manner in which people communicate and connect via emerging technology. So much so was science a part of our everyday lives, that these social theorists proposed that basic science competence (observing, measuring, inferring, communicating) would become more and more important for all citizens to have, just to understand the world around us. As such, they have asserted that in order to be an engaged and active citizen, it is increasingly important to become acquainted with science, even if only at a fundamental level.

Citizen science projects like COASST provide enormous
opportunity to observe and catalog the natural world,
essential aspects of all scienctific research. A recent
visit to Seven Devils Wayside revealed a beach full
of massive pieces of fresh bull kelp (foreground)

It was an interest in what one might call "scientific citizenship" that first drew south Oregon COASSTer Karen (Seven Devils Wayside) to the program several years ago. With no professional background in science and a child who was moving into a science-based career, Karen was more and more interested in the natural sciences and felt it necessary to expand her own understanding of the science process. Utilizing the informative protocols COASST has in place for volunteers and finding herself more in tune with her COASST beach after multiple trips, Karen has greatly expanded not only what she knows and understands about birds and beaches, but also just how biological research is conducted, what it can tell you, what it can’t, and how it might be used to make decisions about policy or management. For Karen, her intentional engagement in the COASST program is a way to remain an informed citizen, to understand the role of science in our lives, and to play an active part in that process. And, living inland nearly 45 minutes, her commitment to the program is a great reason for Karen to visit the outer Oregon coast every month. Both worthwhile endeavors in my book!