Fabio Attorre
Sapienza University of Rome
Associate Professor of Botany at Sapienza University. He is scientific coordinator of several International Cooperation projects aimed at promoting the sustainable development of local communities and the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources. Areas of interventions included Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Albania, Yemen, Ecuador, Peru, Dominican Republic.
All Sessions by Fabio Attorre
Chapter XIV: Rome 9/5/2019
10:35 - 11:00
Botanical gardens and citizen science: an (as yet) under-exploited potential
Participation of citizens to research activities probably began with a “Christmas bird count” in 1900. Citizen science activities can aim at several purposes: long term monitoring, environmental education, preservation of traditional ecological knowledge, etc. Citizen scientists can collect data, support scientists in the field, involve decision makers, plan new research activities, etc. While citizen science may have critical issues, especially as far as data quality is concerned, it has several relevant advantages as well (reduced costs, production of “big data”, awareness raising, etc.). However, especially in Europe, there is still an under-exploited potential for botanical gardens to act as drivers for citizen science initiatives.
02:15 - 03:15
