Edward E. Millar, Stephanie L Melles, J. Klug, Terry Rees
{"title":"Stewarding relations of trust: citizen scientist perspectives on fostering community trust in science","authors":"Edward E. Millar, Stephanie L Melles, J. Klug, Terry Rees","doi":"10.1080/23251042.2022.2112888","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Although citizen science can be characterised as a mechanism to counter anti-science attitudes and build public trust in science, the popularity of citizen science may be indicative of growing populism trends and public hostility towards professional expertise. We undertook a qualitative study of the attitudes of volunteer lake stewards in a long-running lake monitoring program in Ontario, Canada, considering themes related to fostering public trust in science. Semi-structured interviews (n = 40) were conducted with volunteers in the Lake Partner Program (LPP), Ontario, Canada, who were asked questions related to how they use the data they collect, how they communicate results to local audiences, and the extent to which they see themselves playing a role in strengthening community trust in scientific knowledge, institutions, and individuals that are involved in the program. Though trust in science is relational, imprecise, and difficult to categorise, our findings suggest that trust is linked to community reputation, the accessibility of scientific concepts, the ability to act when appropriate, and ongoing institutional support for volunteer efforts. Lake stewards see themselves as translators and emissaries of environmental science within their communities: under certain conditions, stewards can help to strengthen community trust.","PeriodicalId":54173,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sociology","volume":"9 1","pages":"31 - 50"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2022-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Sociology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23251042.2022.2112888","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
ABSTRACT Although citizen science can be characterised as a mechanism to counter anti-science attitudes and build public trust in science, the popularity of citizen science may be indicative of growing populism trends and public hostility towards professional expertise. We undertook a qualitative study of the attitudes of volunteer lake stewards in a long-running lake monitoring program in Ontario, Canada, considering themes related to fostering public trust in science. Semi-structured interviews (n = 40) were conducted with volunteers in the Lake Partner Program (LPP), Ontario, Canada, who were asked questions related to how they use the data they collect, how they communicate results to local audiences, and the extent to which they see themselves playing a role in strengthening community trust in scientific knowledge, institutions, and individuals that are involved in the program. Though trust in science is relational, imprecise, and difficult to categorise, our findings suggest that trust is linked to community reputation, the accessibility of scientific concepts, the ability to act when appropriate, and ongoing institutional support for volunteer efforts. Lake stewards see themselves as translators and emissaries of environmental science within their communities: under certain conditions, stewards can help to strengthen community trust.
期刊介绍：
Environmental Sociology is dedicated to applying and advancing the sociological imagination in relation to a wide variety of environmental challenges, controversies and issues, at every level from the global to local, from ‘world culture’ to diverse local perspectives. As an international, peer-reviewed scholarly journal, Environmental Sociology aims to stretch the conceptual and theoretical boundaries of both environmental and mainstream sociology, to highlight the relevance of sociological research for environmental policy and management, to disseminate the results of sociological research, and to engage in productive dialogue and debate with other disciplines in the social, natural and ecological sciences. Contributions may utilize a variety of theoretical orientations including, but not restricted to: critical theory, cultural sociology, ecofeminism, ecological modernization, environmental justice, organizational sociology, political ecology, political economy, post-colonial studies, risk theory, social psychology, science and technology studies, globalization, world-systems analysis, and so on. Cross- and transdisciplinary contributions are welcome where they demonstrate a novel attempt to understand social-ecological relationships in a manner that engages with the core concerns of sociology in social relationships, institutions, practices and processes. All methodological approaches in the environmental social sciences – qualitative, quantitative, integrative, spatial, policy analysis, etc. – are welcomed. Environmental Sociology welcomes high-quality submissions from scholars around the world.
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