RA1.4 THESIS: Engagement Beyond Inclusion

Engagement Beyond Inclusion: Reframing Citizen Science in Aotearoa New Zealand

June 2024

Larkins D. 2024. Engagement Beyond Inclusion: Reframing Citizen Science in Aotearoa New Zealand. Unpublished Masters thesis, University of Auckland. 159 p.

ABSTRACT

Citizen science challenges the conventional notion of research as an exclusive domain of professional scientists, by fostering collaboration to actively engage members of the public in aspects of scientific research. It is widely used in the environmental area, where citizens contribute to greater understanding of the natural world. Citizen involvement can range from participants simply being data collectors for science research right through to some projects seeing citizens as collaborators and co-designers with their science partners. Whatever form citizen science takes, the endeavour allows participants to directly contribute to scientific advancement while simultaneously gaining knowledge and appreciation for the research process. However, as citizen science’s roots lie in Eurocentric ideals of Western science, it raises concerns about how well citizen science programmes resonate with culturally diverse and historically marginalised communities. This thesis therefore examines how citizen science might be inclusive of, and relevant to contexts which include Māori as participants, and to contexts where citizen science investigation has particular cultural relevance such as when working with taonga species. The research explored two cases that involved communities engaging in environmental research. The first case considered the context of Kauri Rescue, a citizen science project framed through a western science lens, which sees citizens collaborating with scientists to refine a treatment solution for kauri dieback, a disease devastating kauri - a taonga species, with considerable cultural significance. The other case considered the context of a Māori community of the North Hokianga in the Far North region of Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa NZ), undertaking environmental research guided by Te Ao Māori values. These two cases enabled the research to explore community engagement through two different cultural lenses. To investigate the first case, the research applied a mixed methods approach involving an online survey and semi-structured interviews, to examine participants’ motivation for engagement and experiences of a citizen science project framed by Western science. To investigate the second case in the North Hokianga, a narrative ethnographic method was utilised through wānanga to understand how Te Ao Māori values could inform the practice of citizen science when working with Māori communities. The thesis reveals the significance of recognising and accommodating the diverse motivations and value systems of participants in environmental citizen science initiatives to cultivate sustained participant engagement and ensure project longevity. This thesis further found that while place attachment and values are intrinsic in the foundation of cultural identity for Māori, they are also of vital importance to Pākehā engaged in environmental citizen science initiatives. When working in Aotearoa NZ, citizen science projects must consider how to intertwine these values into the core structure of their initiatives to ensure their enduring viability and alignment with participant communities. This exploration of people’s experiences of engaging in environmental research through different cultural contexts, has enabled the research to inform how citizen science in Aotearoa NZ could be shaped by Māori values and therefore responsive to a more diverse Aotearoa NZ. Furthermore, it contributes to wider discussions in Aotearoa NZ about decolonising science.