Impact of the citizen science project Collect on ocean literacy and well-being within a north/west African and south-east Asian context
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Date
2023
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Frontiers in Psychology
Abstract
Plastic pollution is both a societal and environmental problem and citizen science
has proven to be a useful tool to engage both the public and professionals in
addressing it. However, knowledge on the educational and behavioral impacts
of citizen science projects focusing on marine litter remains limited. Our
preregistered study investigates the impact of the citizen science project Citizen
Observation of Local Litter in coastal ECosysTems (COLLECT) on the participants’
ocean literacy, pro-environmental intentions and attitudes, well-being, and
nature connectedness, using a pretest-posttest design. A total of 410 secondary
school students from seven countries in Africa (Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire,
Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, and Asia (Malaysia) were trained to sample plastics on
sandy beaches and to analyze their collection in the classroom. Non-parametric
statistical tests (n = 239 matched participants) demonstrate that the COLLECT
project positively impacted ocean literacy (i.e., awareness and knowledge of
marine litter, self-reported litter-reducing behaviors, attitudes towards beach litter
removal). The COLLECT project also led to higher pro-environmental behavioral
intentions for students in Benin and Ghana (implying a positive spillover effect)
and higher well-being and nature connectedness for students in Benin. Results
are interpreted in consideration of a high baseline in awareness and attitudes
towards marine litter, a low internal consistency of pro-environmental attitudes, the cultural context of the participating countries, and the unique settings of
the project’s implementation. Our study highlights the benefits and challenges
of understanding how citizen science impacts perceptions and behaviors
towards marine litter in youth from the respective regions.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
plastic pollution, beach sampling, ocean literacy