Understanding pollination in urban food production: the importance of data validation and participant feedback for citizen science project design

Abstract

O_LIThere is a significant knowledge gap regarding the pollination needs of urban farming, partly due to barriers for researchers in accessing these growing spaces. Involving growers in data collection offers a potential solution but presents other challenges in terms of data accuracy and participant retention. C_LIO_LIWe developed a citizen science methodology for monitoring plant-pollinator interactions in urban food systems and evaluated the accuracy of data collected by growers by comparison to data collected by a professionally trained researcher. We also collected feedback from participants at the mid- and endpoints of the project regarding their experiences of taking part. C_LIO_LIWhile there was some agreement between the datasets in terms of the crops most (raspberries and squash) and least attractive (tomatoes) to insects, relying only on the dataset collected by growers themselves (citizen scientists) would lead to an overestimation of the generality of relationships between crops and pollinating insects in urban food production. Possible reasons for discrepancies between the datasets include species misidentification and non-reporting of surveys where no insects were observed by citizen scientists. C_LIO_LICitizen scientists reported lack of time, concerns about data accuracy and too complex methods as barriers to participation. Implementation of their suggestions for improvements led to a 66% increase in participation in the following year, demonstrating the importance of maintaining a two-way dialogue between participants and project organisers. Citizen scientists also reported an increased appreciation and understanding of insect pollinations following participation, highlighting an additional benefit of involving urban growers in data collection. C_LI Social Impact StatementGrowing food in urban areas can contribute towards sustainable food production. We know little about urban crop pollination, and data collection can be challenging due to restricted access to growing spaces. We developed and tested the effectiveness of a method for urban growers themselves to collect data on insects visiting their crops. Comparing data to that collected by a professional researcher, we found similarities in terms of the most and least attractive crops to pollinators, but there were also large discrepancies in the datasets that mean there are limitations to relying on grower-collected data alone to understand urban plant-pollinator interactions.