Sharing communication insights of the citizen science program Plastic Pirates—best practices from 7 years of engaging schoolchildren and teachers in plastic pollution research

Sha ing communica ion insigh s o he ci izen science p og am Plas ic Pi a es—bes p ac ices om 7 yea s o engaging schoolchild en and eache s in plas ic pollu ion esea ch Sinja Di mann 1 * † , Tim Kiessling 1† , Linda Mede ake 2 , Mandy Hinzmann 2 , Do is Knoblauch 2 , Ma ianne Böhm-Beck 1 , Ka in Knickmeie 1 and Ma in Thiel 3 , 4 , 5 1 Kiel Science Fac o y, Leibniz Ins i u e o Science and Ma hema ics Educa ion (IPN) and Kiel Uni e si y, Kiel, Ge many, 2 Ecologic Ins i u e, Be lin, Ge many, 3 Depa amen o de Biología Ma ina, Uni e sidad Ca ólica del No e, Coquimbo, Chile, 4 Cen e o Ecology and Sus ainable Managemen o Oceanic Islands, Facul ad de Ciencias del Ma , Uni e sidad Ca ólica del No e, Coquimbo, Chile, 5 Cen o de Es udios A anzados en Zonas Á idas (CEAZA), Coquimbo, Chile Engaging he gene al public in esea ch p ocesses h ough ci izen science allows o inno a i e scien ific s udies and makes science accessible o he gene al public. E ec i e communica ion s a egies a e c ucial o he success o such ini ia i es. The ci izen science p og am Plas ic Pi a es in es iga ed he plas ic pollu ion o i e s and implemen ed a a ie y o communica ion s a egies wi h pa icipa ing schoolchild en, eache s, and you h g oups (e.g., spo associa ions, scou s o educa ional aca ion p og ams, ep esen ing app oxima ely 6% o pa icipa ing g oups). These we e con inuously e ised and adap ed since i s s a in 2016. Wi hou ime-e ficien communica ion and s a egies o keep ack o con e sa ions, i would no ha e been possible o achie e he scien ific and educa ional goals o he p og am, i.e., o help eache s inc ease he en i onmen al awa eness and scien ific li e acy o hei schoolchild en, and o p oduce pee - e iewed a icles based on he collec ed ci izen science da a. Communica ion wi hin he Plas ic Pi a es p og am was di ided in o ou dis inc phases: 1) ec ui ing and mo i a ing pa icipan s, 2) coo dina ion and guidance o pa icipan s, 3) da a ecep ion and e ision, and 4) sha ing upda es and esul s. Some o he obs acles ha had o be o e come o achie e success ul communica ion we e e.g., ime cons ain s o ob aining scien ific da a om he pa icipan s, he ime lag be ween he ac i e in ol emen o he pa icipan s and he ac ual da a analysis and publica ion o esul s, and limi ed pe sonnel esou ces a ailable o communica ion e o s. Ou ecommenda ions o o he ci izen science p ac i ione s include egula and anspa en communica ion wi h he pa icipan s ega ding hei con ibu ion, he use o adequa e and a ious communica ion channels, shi ing he wo kload om he pa icipan s o he coo dina ing eam o a ci izen science ini ia i e, as well as o e ing eedback on he esea ch findings o he ci izen scien is s, he eby dissemina ing he esul s o he p og am. KEYWORDS ci izen science, ci izen science p ojec s, public engagemen wi h science, ci izen science in schools, science communica ion, school eache s, you h g oups OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Yaela N. Golumbic, Tel-A i Uni e si y, Is ael REVIEWED BY Mo i z Mülle , Museum o Na u al His o y Be lin (M N), Ge many Es he Ma ín-González, Uni e sidade de Lisboa, Po ugal C is ina Luís, Uni e si y o Lisbon, Po ugal *CORRESPONDENCE Sinja Di mann, [email p o ec ed] † These au ho s ha e con ibu ed equally o his wo k and sha e fi s au ho ship RECEIVED 01 June 2023 ACCEPTED 04 Augus 2023 PUBLISHED 21 Augus 2023 CITATION Di mann S, Kiessling T, Mede ake L, Hinzmann M, Knoblauch D, Böhm-Beck M, Knickmeie K and Thiel M (2023), Sha ing communica ion insigh s o he ci izen science p og am Plas ic Pi a es—bes p ac ices om 7 yea s o engaging schoolchild en and eache s in plas ic pollu ion esea ch. F on . En i on. Sci. 11:1233103. doi: 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 COPYRIGHT © 2023 Di mann, Kiessling, Mede ake, Hinzmann, Knoblauch, Böhm-Beck, Knickmeie and Thiel. This is an open- access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (CC BY). The use, dis ibu ion o ep oduc ion in o he o ums is pe mi ed, p o ided he o iginal au ho (s) and he copy igh owne (s) a e c edi ed and ha he o iginal publica ion in his jou nal is ci ed, in acco dance wi h accep ed academic p ac ice. No use, dis ibu ion o ep oduc ion is pe mi ed which does no comply wi h hese e ms. F on ie s in En i onmen al Science on ie sin.o g01 TYPE Communi y Case S udy PUBLISHED 21 Augus 2023 DOI 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 In oduc ion Ci izen science ini ia i es ep esen a p omising app oach o in ol e he gene al public in esea ch p ocesses and he eby answe no el esea ch ques ions (Bonney e al., 2009). E ec i e communica ion be ween he ini ia o s (usually people wi h a o mal scien ific educa ion) and pa icipan s (usually membe s o he gene al public wi hou a o mal scien ific educa ion, Ei zel e al., 2017) is c ucial o he success o ci izen science ini ia i es (Hecke e al., 2018;Rü enach e al., 2021;Wagenknech e al., 2021): Respec ul, app ecia o y, and e ficien communica ion con ibu es o an inc ease o he pa icipan s mo i a ion (Ro man e al., 2012; Ande son e al., 2020), ensu es high da a quali y (Balázs e al., 2021; Di mann e al., 2022), and acili a es pa icipan eedback o he eam coo dina ing he ci izen science ac i i y (Kieslinge e al., 2018; Rambonne e al., 2019). Fu he mo e, i in o ms pa icipan s o esul s and ou comes o he ini ia i e (de V ies e al., 2019;P obe e al., 2022). Communica ion can occu h ough a ious channels, in pe son o ia digi al communica ion (Rü enach e al., 2021). In his s udy we p esen he a ious communica ion s a egies used in he Plas ic Pi a es p og am. The Plas ic Pi a es a e a ci izen science p og am in which schoolchild en and you h g oups collec da a on li e pollu ion on i e banks and in i e s wi hin he Eu opean Union (h ps:// www.plas ic-pi a es.eu/). The schoolchild en, you h g oups and hei eache s and you h g oup coo dina o s pa icipa e in he p og am by collec ing li e da a and samples du ing campaigns, which a e 2-mon hs long pe iods, aking place once o wice pe yea (acco ding o he capaci y o he coo dina ing eam; Figu e 1). The pa icipan s wo k in g oups on di e en aspec s o local li e , each g oup employs a specific me hod o espond hei co esponding esea ch ques ions. One g oup in es iga es li e quan i ies and he main ma e ial composi ion o li e , while ano he explo es he su oundings o in e he p incipal sou ce o li e ound (Kiessling e al., 2019). Ano he g oup ocuses on iden i ying ce ain single-use plas ics o e alua e whe he a Eu opean legisla ion aiming a educing single-use plas ic pollu ion ac ually educes he quan i ies o hese i ems in he i e en i onmen (Kiessling e al., 2023a). Finally, one g oup examines he li e floa ing a he wa e su ace in he i e by coun ing la ge floa ing objec s and sampling plas ic pa icles smalle han 5 mm; (Kiessling e al., 2021). The p og am’s a ge audience a e schoolchild en and you h g oups as he Plas ic Pi a es ha e a s ong educa ional ocus, including aspec s o en i onmen al educa ion, scien ific li e acy, you h empowe men , and ge ing ac i e o educe he en i onmen al plas ic pollu ion p oblem. The age o pa icipan s o which he p og am was designed was 12 and olde , al hough some elemen a y schools pa icipa ed e e y yea as well. Since he s a o he p ojec in 2016 mo e han 24,000 schoolchild en, eache s and o he people pa icipa ed in he p og am in ele en sampling campaigns (Table 1). Du ing he li e ime o he p ojec he size o he p ojec eam a ied FIGURE 1 Tasks o he Plas ic Pi a es coo dina ing eam and he ci izen scien is s in an exemplified yea in which a sp ing and an au umn sampling campaign we e conduc ed. Da a p ocessing asks, such as ci izen science da a e ifica ion, da a analysis and ad ancing wo k on scien ific a icles we e loosely connec ed o he ac ual sampling campaigns and happened h oughou he p og am. The black a ows indica e ha wo k esul ing om hese phases was ca ied o e o he subsequen yea . The o e lap o phases and he esul ing wo kload o he coo dina ing eam illus a es a main challenge o he Plas ic Pi a es. F on ie s in En i onmen al Science on ie sin.o g02 Di mann e al. 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 subs an ially, anging om one pe son being esponsible o communica ion and da a analysis o a eam o wo pe sons being in ol ed in communica ion be o e he sampling and ou o fi e pe sons esponsible o he communica ion a e he sampling and analysing da a (all o which did no wo k ull ime in he p og am). The Plas ic Pi a es a e one among many ci izen science ini ia i es in es iga ing an h opogenic, and especially plas ic li e : no able la ge-scale and in e na ional examples include he In e na ional Coas al Cleanup (Ocean Conse ancy, 2022), Ma ine Li e Wa ch (EEA, 2022), he Ma ine Deb is T acke (Jambeck and Johnsen, 2015), and In e na ional Pelle Wa ch (Oga a e al., 2009). Ci izen scien is s ha e con ibu ed subs an ially o ou knowledge abou plas ic pollu ion (Hidalgo-Ruz and Thiel, 2015;Ze le e al., 2017;Kawabe e al., 2022). This global p oblem has eached unpa alleled dimensions (E iksen e al., 2023) wi h se e e impac s o he wellbeing o na u al en i onmen s (MacLeod e al., 2021), and i is expec ed ha he scale o he p oblem will u he in ensi y (Bo elle e al., 2020). While all en i onmen s a e a ec ed, i e s play an impo an ole as a anspo pa hway o inland li e o he sea (Rech e al., 2015), and as a sensi i e and pollu ed en i onmen alike. This is no di e en o i e s in Ge many, as he esul s o he Plas ic Pi a es ha e shown (Kiessling e al., 2019;Kiessling e al., 2021;Kiessling e al., 2023a). This a icle desc ibes he di e en communica ion phases and communica ion channels ( elephone helplines, emails, pos al mailings, social media pos s, e c.) o he Plas ic Pi a es in Ge many and explains how hey we e employed o achie e he main goals o he p og am: (i) gene a ing no el scien ific insigh s on he li e pollu ion o i e s, (ii) imp o ing he scien ific li e acy and en i onmen al awa eness o he pa icipa ing schoolchild en, you h g oups and eache s, and (iii) aising he gene al publics’awa eness o he plas ic pollu ion p oblem. The communica ion s a egies o he Plas ic Pi a es can be di ided in o ou dis inc phases: (1) ec ui ing and mo i a ing pa icipan s, (2) coo dina ion and guidance o pa icipan s, (3) da a ecep ion and e ision, and (4) sha ing upda es and esul s (Figu e 2). Phase (1) comp ised communica ion e o s o ec ui a su ficien numbe o in e es ed school eache s and you h g oup leade s and mo i a e hem o pa icipa e in he p og am. Phase (2) e e s o he communica ion p io o da a collec ion, wi h he aim o cla i ying ques ions abou he sampling me hodology and o ganisa ional aspec s o he p og am. Phase (3) ela es o he communica ion a e da a collec ion, wi h he aim o ensu ing ha scien ific da a and associa ed me ada a, pho os, and samples we e a ailable o he coo dina ing eam (i.e., he scien ific eam analysing and p ocessing da a), and o cla i y ques ions ega ding he quali y o he ci izen science da a. Subsequen ly, phase (4) co e s he communica ion o he esul s o he pa icipan s by p o iding eedback on he scien ific insigh s o he pa icipa ing schools as well as he gene al public. These communica ion s a egies ha e been adap ed and efined since he s a o he p og am in 2016 and we e essen ial o he success o gene a ing no el da a and insigh s abou en i onmen al li e pollu ion a i e sides. Mo eo e , he communica ion s a egies allowed he p og am o engage mo e han 24,000 schoolchild en in Ge many. TABLE 1 Numbe o g oups eques ing educa ional ma e ial, he mic oplas ic sampling ne , and submi ing da ase s o he ele en di e en sampling campaigns (2016–2023) o he Plas ic Pi a es. The las column shows he p opo ion o g oups submi ing a da ase compa ed o he numbe o g oups o de ing educa ional ma e ial. The sampling campaigns in he yea 2020 co espond o he mos se e e COVID-19 es ic ions in Ge many. The numbe o pa icipan s is submi ed by he eache s and you h g oup leade s. Sampling campaign Educa ional ma e ial o de ed (numbe o packages) Sampling ne o de ed (numbe o packages) Da ase s submi ed o he websi e [1] Numbe o pa icipan s P opo ion o g oups ollowing h ough wi h sampling (%) 2016 (au umn) 858 200 [2] 173 2,999 20 2017 (sp ing) 784 200 [2] 190 3,883 24 2018 (sp ing) 428 133 107 1,960 25 2018 (au umn) 470 167 137 2,223 29 2019 (sp ing) 630 202 136 2,515 22 2020 (sp ing) 312 60 40 153 13 2020 (au umn) 368 144 82 1,520 22 2021 (sp ing) 300 170 102 1,707 34 2021 (au umn) 315 215 154 2,535 49 2022 (sp ing) 396 237 173 2,991 44 2022 (au umn) 226 144 97 1,585 43 To al 5,087 1,872 1,391 24,071 27 A e age 462 170 126 2,188 [1] A submi ed da ase did no necessa ily mean ha i was conside ed in a esul ing scien ific a icle as i had o pass ce ain da a e ifica ion s eps (see Di mann e al., 2022 o de ails): Kiessling e al., 2019 used 50% and 83% o a ailable da ase s, depending on he esea ch ques ion, Kiessling e al., 2021 used 43% and 81% o a ailable da ase s, and Kiessling e al., 2023a used 86% o a ailable da ase s. [2] This alue is es ima ed as he e is only a combined numbe o an o de o 400 sampling ne s a ailable o 2016 and 2017. Acco ding o ou ecollec ion, app oxima ely he same numbe o sampling ne s was o de ed in each o hose yea s. F on ie s in En i onmen al Science on ie sin.o g03 Di mann e al. 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 Phase 1: communica ion o ec ui and mo i a e a su ficien numbe o pa icipan s This fi s communica ion phase was implemen ed in ad ance o each Plas ic Pi a es sampling campaign. The sampling campaigns we e usually conduc ed wice a yea o e a pe iod o 2 mon hs. Du ing hese campaigns da a collec ion was he main objec i e (p ima ily o ensu e compa abili y o da a). To engage new pa icipan s, wo main s a egies we e employed: (i) Add essing po en ially in e es ed school eache s, g oup leade s and he gene al public a la ge (b oad communica ion), and (ii) a a ge ed ou each o people who p e iously showed in e es in he Plas ic Pi a es (Figu e 2). Rega ding he b oad app oach, a pos al mailing was sen o app oxima ely 25,000 schools a ound 2 mon hs p io o he beginning o a sampling campaign. A he same ime, he in o ma ion abou a new sampling campaign was ad e ised ia he p og am’s websi e, ele an web po als and newsle e s abou ci izen science ini ia i es. Addi ionally, a p o essional communica ion agency was commissioned o do he p ess wo k o he p og am om 2016 o 2017. This led o mo e han 2,000 media epo s h oughou he li e ime o he p og am, including newspape a icles, online a icles, adio ea u es and con ibu ions on na ional ele ision channels (howe e , due o a lack o da a o hese media epo s we we e unable o e alua e he success o hese measu es in ega ds o ec ui ing pa icipan s). As udybyGia dullo e al. (2023) has shown ha 85.3 % o ci izen science p ojec s su eyed in he EU, Uni ed Kingdom and Swi ze land used social media as communica ion medium o hei p ojec s, indica ing he impo ance o digi al communica ion ools o each la ge a ge g oups (Gia dullo e al., 2023). Fo he a ge ed ou each e o an email dis ibu ion lis wi h app oxima ely 2,000 email add esses was used, consis ing o o me pa icipan s as well as indi iduals who had con ac ed us o exp ess hei in e es in he p og am. Mo eo e , pos s on Facebook and Ins ag am in o med ollowe s abou each new sampling campaign. As a u he measu e, a dedica ed eache aining was o e ed wice a yea h ough an es ablished online eache aining se ice, se ing he pu poses o ad e ising he p og am as well as p epa ing pa icipan s o sampling. Each o hese eache ainings a ac ed app oxima ely 100 eache s on a e age. In o de o keep he ba ie s o pa icipa ion as low as possible, he e we e no equi emen s o o ficial egis a ion. Ins ead, in e es ed eache s and you h g oup leade s could access educa ional ma e ials (a sampling bookle , Kiessling e al., 2022; and eaching ma e ials, Knickmeie e al., 2022) on he Plas ic Pi a es websi e and o de p in ed copies ia an online o m ee o cha ge h oughou he yea . Subsequen ly hey could make an in o med decision on whe he hey would like o pa icipa e. Fo each sampling pe iod, up o 6,000 sampling bookle s we e sen ou o in e es ed eache s and o he pa ies (wi h a decline du ing he pandemic). The educa ional ma e ial has been concep ualized h ough close coope a ion be ween scien is s and school eache s, and con ained in o ma ion ha p o ided o ien a ion on his field o esea ch o pa icipa ing eache s. The educa ional ma e ial con ained solu ions o assignmen s, an indica ion on ime FIGURE 2 Communica ion ools used by he coo dina ing eam o he ci izen science p og am Plas ic Pi a es du ing he di e en communica ion phases wi h he pa icipan s. F on ie s in En i onmen al Science on ie sin.o g04 Di mann e al. 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 equi emen s and ecommended g oup sizes o exe cises, as well as de ailed lis s o ma e ials needed o expe imen s (Knickmeie e al., 2022). As a seconda y s ep, in o med and in e es ed people would o de a sampling ne by p o iding he name, add ess and email o hei ins i u ion, as well as he da e hey in ended o sample wi h hei school class o you h g oup. As he sampling ne was cos ly, i s shipmen was es ic ed o pa icipan s who had acquain ed hemsel es wi h he educa ional ma e ial. On a e age mo e han 450 people eques ed packages wi h educa ional ma e ial o each sampling pe iod (con aining up o 6,000 sampling bookle s; Table 1), which ansla es o app oxima ely 1.5%–2% o people add essed by he ec ui men ac i i ies men ioned abo e. O e all he numbe o pa icipan s, ma e ials o de ed and da ase s submi ed a ied wi h each sampling campaign. This was no only ela ed o he success o communica ion s a egies, bu also influenced by ex e nal ac o s such as he COVID-19 pandemic (Table 1). Phase 2: communica ion o coo dina e and guide pa icipan s p io o da a collec ion The second communica ion phase o e lapped wi h he fi s phase, bu ex ended in o he sampling pe iod (Figu e 1). He e, he ocus o communica ion was on bila e al exchange wi h eache s and you h g oup leade s who we e se iously conside ing pa icipa ing in he p og am. This phase included cla i ying ques ions abou he me hodology, sampling, and o ganisa ional aspec s o he p og am. Typical ques ions conce ned he necessa y size o g oups and age o pa icipan s, sampling da es and sampling si es, equi ed ma e ials, and he sui abili y o he chosen i e o sampling. A imes hese ques ions we e asked be o e o de ing he sampling ma e ial. Some imes, howe e , hese ques ions a ose once he pa icipan s had acquain ed hemsel es wi h he sampling ma e ial. Ques ions conce ning he specific scien ific me hodology we e asked less equen ly. Inqui ies o he coo dina ing eam could be posed ia a elephone helpline ha was ac i e o 4 hou s a day p io o and du ing he sampling campaigns, as well as ia email (Figu e 2). Mos people used he second op ion, illus a ing ha his was he p e e ed mode o communica ion o eache s and you h g oup leade s in Ge many. The alue o his indi idual communica ion wi h each pa icipan can also be exemplified by a su ey ha was conduc ed among Plas ic Pi a es eache s wi h he pu pose o find ou which ac o s mo i a ed hem o in ol e hei class in a ci izen science ac i i y (Kiessling e al., 2023b): ou o he 623 eache s in i ed, 153 eache s handed in a comple e su ey (26%, see he peak in Ma ch 2021 o in i a ional emails being sen in Figu e 3). To ensu e ha pa icipan s we e able o conduc he sampling independen ly, i.e., wi hou he p esence o membe s o he coo dina ing eam, he sampling bookle se ed as a hands-on guide o p epa ing o he field ip and o he ac ual sampling p ocedu e (Kiessling e al., 2022). By di iding he sampling in o fi e subg oups, he complexi y o he indi idual samplings was educed. Concise lis s wi h he mos impo an in o ma ion (e.g., in o ma ion boxes wi h a lis o needed ma e ials) u he se ed o elimina e ambigui ies. Phase 3: communica ion o ecei e and e ise da a a e sampling Once a school o you h g oup had comple ed he ac ual da a collec ion, he nex phase o communica ion was immedia ely ini ia ed by he coo dina ing eam a e hei sampling e en (Figu e 1). This was he mos c i ical, ime-sensi i e, and wo k- in ensi e phase o communica ion as da a and samples had o be secu ed and ambigui ies abou he da a, such as missing me ada a, had o be cla ified as soon as possible (see also Di mann e al., 2022 o conce ns ega ding he ci izen science da a quali y o he Plas ic Pi a es p og am). The e o e, he communica ion e o ia email usually eached i s peak di ec ly a e he sampling campaign (Figu e 3), esul ing in an ex ao dina y wo kload especially in yea s wi h wo sampling campaigns (2018, 2021 and 2022, hough no 2020 due o COVID-19). The coo dina ing eam con ac ed school eache s and you h g oup leade s ei he a e he in ended sampling da e (communica ed by he pa icipan s while o de ing he ma e ials) o once a da ase was uploaded o he Plas ic Pi a es websi e. This phase o communica ion had h ee main goals: (i) assis ance in da a submission, (ii) da a sc eening and immedia e cla ifica ions, and (iii) da a alida ion. Fo he fi s goal, pa icipan s uploaded hei da ase making i publicly accessible on he websi e. The o al amoun o submi ed and accessible da ase s was an impo an public indica o o he success o a sampling campaign. Mos issues he e we e caused by “unconfi med da ase s”as eache s and you h g oup leade s we e equi ed o publish hei submi ed da ase ia an email link hey ecei ed, a necessa y ex a s ep due o da a p o ec ion egula ions. Ano he issue was caused by missing da a and ma e ial ha was equi ed when submi ing a da ase o he websi e. We assume ha he la e was mos ly ela ed o a lack o ime among pa icipan s o o ganize and p ocess me a-da a, da a abou li e findings, and pho os in he eques ed way. The e o e, in specific cases we o e ed eache s o submi hei da a and ma e ial ia email, he eby shi ing he wo kload o so ing da a adequa ely, co ec ing sampling coo dina es o esizing pho os o fi he image size equi emen s away om he pa icipan s and owa ds he coo dina ing eam. The second goal was o sc een he submi ed da a and pho os o comple eness and inconsis encies and o con ac he eache s as quickly as possible o cla i y hese issues. Di ficul ies ela ed o example o, o example, da a shee s ha we e only pa ially filled ou , pho og aphs wi h un eadable labels o wi h a poo esolu ion, o coo dina es ha we e no loca ed close enough o a i e o iden i y he ac ual si e ha was sampled. Due o he la ge numbe o pa icipan s and submi ed da ase s, i was challenging o sc een he da a in a imely manne . The sampling campaigns o ganized in sp ing we e highly ime sensi i e due o he summe aca ions and he ansi ion o he nex school yea . In ou expe ience, un imely communica ion esul ed in da a, pho os and samples being los , e.g., because images we e dele ed om sma phones, da ashee s we e disca ded a he end o he academic yea , he samples we e los du ing cleaning o he class ooms by unins uc ed pe sonnel, o eache s and schoolchild en (holding equi ed in o ma ion) became una ailable due o changes in class o school cons ella ion. F on ie s in En i onmen al Science on ie sin.o g05 Di mann e al. 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 The hi d goal, he da a alida ion, was no as ime sensi i e in e ms o communica ion, as all da a and ma e ials we e ei he ob ained om pa icipan s o deemed o be unob ainable a e he fi s wo s eps. Du ing his final s ep he ci izen science da a we e e ified, i.e., he submi ed da a shee s we e compa ed o he pho os showing he li e findings (see Di mann e al., 2022 o de ails). This p ocess some imes led o open ques ions on he side o he scien is s, such as whe he emp y sec ions o he da a shee indica ed ha he e was no li e a his sampling s a ion o whe he his sampling s a ion had no been es ablished and in es iga ed (Kiessling e al., 2019). Ano he example o cla i ying communica ion du ing his phase was whe he anno a ed floa ing li e was ac ually mobile, o whe he i was immobile and had become en angled in he ege a ion (Kiessling e al., 2021). Phase 4: communica ion o sha e upda es and esul s The final phase o communica ion aimed o in o m pa icipan s abou he esul s and p og ess o he p og am. The majo challenge o his phase was he ime di e ence be ween da a collec ion and he ac ual publica ion o scien ific esul s, pa icula ly he publica ion o a s udy in es iga ing mic oplas ics which equi ed ho ough isual analysis o each sample and he polyme cha ac e iza ion o each mic oplas ic pa icle (Kiessling e al., 2021;Table 2). These long imes be ween being in ol ed in an ac i i y and seeing ac ual esul s was di ficul o con ey o he pa icipan s, especially gi en he as - paced school en i onmen . Due o his, he p og am was designed o o e closu e o pa icipan s be o e he publica ion o scien ific a icles by employing di e en s a egies: (i) The sampling bookle encou aged pa icipan s o compa e hei own esul s wi h da a collec ed by o he g oups (Kiessling e al., 2022). This was done using he websi e, which au oma ically showed a summa y o uploaded da a o all g oups and calcula ed means o li e findings (Supplemen al Ma e ial S2). We chose his as access o da a summa ies o e da a quali y as he e ified da a would only be a ailable much la e in he p ocess (see Phase 3). (ii) The educa ional ma e ial u he con ained an op ional chap e on how o ge in ol ed in sol ing he plas ic pollu ion c isis, in case eache s wan ed o encou age in e es ed schoolchild en o pu sue he p oblem beyond he collec ion o da a (Knickmeie e al., 2022). (iii) A ce ifica e o pa icipa ion was sen ou o pa icipa ing eache s (usually abou 2 mon hs a e he end o a sampling campaign). Du ing he fi s campaigns, he ce ifica e was a p in ed documen , du ing la e campaigns, howe e , he ce ifica es we e sen ia email, due o budge cons ain s. (i ) P og am upda es we e pos ed on social media, p o iding pa icipan s wi h a behind- he-scenes look. This addi ional wo k (a ending social media) illus a es he challenges aced by he coo dina ing eam (e.g., mee ings wi h p ojec pa ne s o p epa e he sampling campaign, he ime equi ed o da a ecep ion and pos e io analysis) and demons a ed why his was such a ime-in ensi e p ocess (Supplemen al Ma e ial S3). Once da a we e sc eened, we usually epo ed esul s in an abb e ia ed and summa ized o m on a dedica ed sec ion o he websi e (Supplemen al Ma e ial S2). This ook mul iple mon hs and was especially challenging in yea s wi h wo sampling campaigns as his phase (Phase 4) o e lapped wi h Phase 1 o he nex sampling campaign (Figu e 1). A e ull analysis, i.e. he publica ion o he espec i e scien ific a icle, a summa y o he a icle in Ge man was sen o all pa icipa ing eache s and you h g oup leade s and also dissemina ed ia social media. This summa y ook di e en shapes, e.g. slides o be shown in class o sho ideos o schoolchild en o wa ch (Supplemen al Ma e ial S3). FIGURE 3 Numbe s o emails sen and ecei ed pe mon h by a cen alized email add ess c ea ed o indi idual communica ion wi h pa icipan s, be o e, du ing and a e he ac i e da a collec ion (i.e., sampling campaigns) o he Plas ic Pi a es (see Supplemen al Ma e ial S1 o o iginal da a). The pu pose o he indi idual communica ion was o coo dina e he shipmen o he mic oplas ic sampling ne , answe ing ques ions ega ding he sampling, and ge ing in con ac o ob ain missing da a and samples and cla i y ques ions ega ding he ci izen science da a quali y. The six di e en unding pe iods, pa ially o e lapping, a e highligh ed as ba s o e laying he indica ion o yea s. In o al 12,767 emails we e egis e ed (7,237 emails sen , 5,530 emails ecei ed). This ep esen ed a li le mo e han 1,000 h o wo k, assuming e e y email equi ed 5 minu es o a en ion, and he e o e app oxima ely 37 weeks o employmen ime (gi en a wo k con ac ypical o he p og am o ~29 h pe week). The peak o emails being sen in Ma ch 2023 is due o indi idualised in i a ions o pa icipa e in a su ey (see main ex o he manusc ip ). F on ie s in En i onmen al Science on ie sin.o g06 Di mann e al. 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 Apa om his a ge ed communica ion o pa icipan s, o he s akeholde s such as non-scien ific g oups (policymake s, en i onmen al enginee s, NGOs e c.) we e also in o med o he ou come, e.g., h ough non-scien ific echnical epo s (Di mann e al., 2021;Di mann and Kiessling, 2021;Mede ake e al., 2021)as well as p ess wo k which esul ed in p in , online and b oadcas media co e age. Discussion Being a mos ly con ibu o y p og am (as opposed o co-designed ci izen science ini ia i es, Senab e Hidalgo e al., 2021) he communica ion p ocesses in he Plas ic Pi a es p og am we e la gely designed o ensu e ha (i) pa icipan s can e ec i ely lea n abou he scien ific p ocess and he plas ic pollu ion p oblem, and (ii) scien ifically use ul da a abou he li e pollu ion o i e s could be collec ed and submi ed by pa icipan s. The pu pose o communica ion wi hin ci izen science ini ia i es a ies depending on e.g., he desi ed ou comes, a ge audience, imescales, and he le el o engagemen o he pa icipan s in he ini ia i e (Rü enach e al., 2021). Fo ini ia i es engaging hei pa icipan s in he design o esea ch ques ions (Balla d and Belsky, 2010), in ex ensi e aining o pe o m da a collec ion and he shipmen o samples (Schneide e al., 2021), he analysis o da a (Weigelho e e al., 2018) o e en he publica ion o esul s (Nicosia e al., 2014), indi idual communica ion na u ally s a s much ea lie and ends much la e in he li e ime o a ci izen science ini ia i e. S onge , deepe in e ac ion has been shown o lead o a s onge pa icipan commi men (Rü enach e al., 2021). Fo he Plas ic Pi a es p og am, a mo e co-c ea i e app oach would no ha e esul ed in he la ge numbe o pa icipan s (who we e geog aphically dispe sed ac oss Ge many). Much o he coo dina ing eam’s esou ces we e al eady alloca ed o communica ion and da a quali y assu ance e o s (Figu es 1,3;Di mann e al., 2022). Rega ding he wo kload, he hi d phase o communica ion, he ecep ion and e ision o da a, was he mos complex wi hin he Plas ic Pi a es p og am, bu essen ial o he achie emen o he p og am’s main goals. Especially in yea s in which wo sampling campaigns we e conduc ed, he ollow-up phases o one campaign (Phase 3) and he p epa a ion phase o ano he (Phase 1) o en o e lapped (Figu e 1). O he ci izen science ini ia i es o e come his demanding wo kload by elying on echnology o in ol e pa icipan s o o he in e es ed pa ies in p ocesses such as he e ifica ion o da a (e.g., iNa u alis , di Cecco e al., 2021, see also he ci izen science app SPOTTERON, which o e s a pla o m o a ious ci izen science ini ia i es, Humme and Niede meye , 2018). Fo he Plas ic Pi a es p og am he de elopmen o an app would ha e been oo cos ly, and school classes in Ge many a e cu en ly insu ficien ly digi ized o allow o da a collec ion ia mobile de ices in he field. Fu he mo e, subsequen communica ion be ween eache s o you h g oup leade s and he coo dina ing eam o he pu pose o cla i ying ques ions would no ha e been esol ed ia an app as many issues could only be cla ified bila e ally ia email o elephone. A u he challenge was p o iding eedback o eache s and you h g oup leade s a e pa icipa ion, as he publica ion o he scien ific a icles ook o e 1 yea a e da ase s we e submi ed (Table 2). In con ibu o y ini ia i es imely eedback o esul s is impo an o pa icipan s o gain insigh s in o he scien ificfindings, o which hey had con ibu ed (de V ies e al., 2019), which is why we chose o sha e insigh s in o he scien ific p ocess ia social media. Feedback can be a e y impo an mo i a ing ac o o pa icipan s (Ro man e al., 2012). The only possibili y o eedback o eache s and you h g oup leade s in he Plas ic Pi a es p og am was di ec con ac wi h he coo dina ing eam. He e, a cen al pla o m wi h he pu pose o building a communi y would ha e gi en pa icipan s a chance o eflec upon hei pa icipa ion and in e ac wi h each o he . The p edecesso o he Plas ic Pi a es p og am, he p ojec Following he Pa hways o Plas ic Li e , engaged classes in communi y building exe cises h ough an online blog and h ough sha ing expe iences ia ideo and ex s. S ill, he e was a mode a ion and language ba ie be ween he wo pa icipa ing coun ies (Chile and Ge many), which was challenging o o e come and ime-consuming o he coo dina ion eam (K use e al., 2020). Simila ly, sho unding pe iods (Figu e 3) and unce ain ies abou u u e unding made he communica ion wi h pa icipan s e en mo e di ficul , as we ( he coo dina ion eam) could only o e ambiguous esponses o he ques ions o eache s whe he u u e pa icipa ion was possible, had no ce ain y in planning hese u u e campaigns, and submi ed da a we e no ully analysed ye . I has o be emphasized ha we see he mo i a ion o he pa icipan s and he in eg a ion o hei pa icula in e es s and knowledge, as well as hei in ol emen beyond da a collec ion wi hin he esea ch app oach as an essen ial componen o ci izen science. The e o e, ex ensi e educa ional ma e ials we e TABLE 2 Time be ween ci izen science sampling campaigns and he ac ual pee - e iewed publica ion o he espec i e Plas ic Pi a es s udy making use o hese da a. Plas ic Pi a es s udy Ci izen science da a collec ion campaigns Published (a ailable online) Time be ween da a collec ion campaigns and publica ion (coun ing om las sampling campaign o which da a we e conside ed) In es iga ion o i e side li e quan i ies, composi ion and sou ces (Kiessling e al., 2019) Au umn o 2016 and sp ing o 2017 No embe o 2018 App oxima ely 17 mon hs In es iga ion o mic oplas ic quan i ies, polyme composi ion and sou ces (Kiessling e al., 2021) Au umn o 2016 and sp ing o 2017 May o 2021 App oxima ely 4 yea s E alua ion o he EU Single-Use Plas ics Di ec i e (Kiessling e al., 2023a) Mul iple campaigns om sp ing o 2019 o au umn o 2021 Ap il o 2023 App oxima ely 18 mon hs F on ie s in En i onmen al Science on ie sin.o g07 Di mann e al. 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 p epa ed ha could be used mos ly independen ly by pa icipan s (Kiessling e al., 2022;Knickmeie e al., 2022). Educa ional ma e ial o da a collec ion p o ocols a e an in eg al pa o many ci izen science ini ia i es and i is impo an ha hei o ma is adap ed o he a ge audience (Balázs e al., 2021). O e all he success o communica ion s a egies a ied, which could be seen in he anges o people o de ing ma e ials and pa icipa ing in sampling excu sions in di e en yea s, and was also influenced by ex e nal ac o s such as he COVID-19 pandemic (Table 1). O e he longdu a iono hep og aminGe many(mo e han6yea s oda e), he communica ion s a egies used wi hin he Plas ic Pi a es we e cons an ly adap ed based on ou expe iences. This included, o example, keeping ack o con e sa ions wi h he help o a sp eadshee (anno a ing missing in o ma ion alongside da es when pa icipan s we e con ac ed), simpli ying sampling p o ocols, and es ablishing he backend o he websi e in such a way ha he coo dina ing eam could easily access in o ma ion abou da ase s (e.g., upload da a, check o missing pho os, ensu e accu acy o me ada a). These imp o emen s along wi h equen indi idual con e sa ions wi h eache s and you h g oup leade s wi h he pu pose o achie ing he scien ific goal o he ini ia i e, illus a ed he alue o he ci izen scien is s’con ibu ions and esul ed in e ec i e communica ion s a egies wi hin he Plas ic Pi a es p og am going o wa d. Recommenda ions o ci izen science communica ion s a egies Ou expe ience wi h he Plas ic Pi a es p og am showed ha quick and e ficien indi idual communica ion wi h pa icipan s (usually eache s and you h g oup leade s), mos ly ia email, was key o ob aining and e i ying ci izen science da a. We would ha e p e e ed o sys ema ically in ol e pa icipan s in an e alua ion o he p og am’s communica ion s a egies and include hem in he mo e scien ific p ocesses o he Plas ic Pi a es p og am (such as e i ying each o he ’s da ase s), and digi izing educa ional ma e ials (o de eloping an app). Howe e , due o financial and ime- cons ain s, we ocused on he key mission o he p og am, namely, o e ing pa icipan s a sho -li ed scien ific expe ience beyond he ypical class oom ac i i ies, and ga he ing no el insigh s in o he p oblem o en i onmen al plas ic pollu ion. Because o his, we we e able o con ey scien ificfindings based on ci izen science da a in se e al pee - e iewed publica ions (Kiessling e al., 2019;Kiessling e al., 2021;Kiessling e al., 2023a), sha e ou lessons lea ned ega ding da a quali y mechanisms o he p og am (Di mann e al., 2022), in ol e mo e han 24,000 pa icipan s in Ge many, who con ibu ed mo e han 1,200 da ase s o li e pollu ion, and ex end he spa ial scope o he p og am beyond Ge many o o he Eu opean coun ies (h ps://www.plas ic-pi a es. eu/). The main challenge o be o e come was balancing he limi ed pe sonnel esou ces o he coo dina ion eam wi h he need o indi idual communica ion wi h pa icipan s a e he field sampling o he pu poses o ecei ing da a and e iewing da a quali y. While success ul ci izen science communica ion s a egies a e ied o he goals o indi idual ini ia i es, we o e he ollowing en bes p ac ice ips based on he expe iences o he Plas ic Pi a es,which migh be especially aluable o simila ly s uc u ed con ibu o y ci izen science ini ia i es: (i) Communica e as flexible as possible and in a anspa en and concise manne o ensu e scien ifically aluable da a. (ii) Make su e o ha e he ex ensi e pe sonnel esou ces needed o e ficien communica ion. (iii) Keep he ba ie s o pa icipa ion as low as possible by o e ing ma e ial ee o cha ge and shi ing wo kload om pa icipan s o he coo dina ing eam. (i ) Ask o sampling da es in ad ance o an icipa e da a p ocessing e o s a an ea ly s age. ( ) O e an al e na i e way o submi da a, as o some pa icipan s he ba ie o submi da a ia a dedica ed web o m can likely no be o e come, o he al e na i e use a communica ion medium he pa icipan s a e amilia wi h. ( i) Assis pa icipan s du ing wo k phases equi ing echnical skills o asks ha a e epe i i e. ( ii) Keep pa icipan s engaged and communica e wi h hem beyond he da a collec ion phase. ( iii) Acknowledge he alue o he con ibu ions o pa icipan s (in publica ions o social media pos s) and celeb a e achie emen s oge he , o example, upon eaching impo an miles ones (see Supplemen al Ma e ial S3). (ix) Ensu e ha communica ion wi h eache s (e.g., in o m o elephone helplines o webina s) is a ailable ou side o school hou s (in he a e noon o e ening). (x) Conside he eali ies in which schools ope a e, e.g., aca ions, eaching schedules and o ma s, school cu icula, a ailable pe sonnel esou ces and ime cons ain s. Da a a ailabili y s a emen The o iginal con ibu ions p esen ed in he s udy a e included in he a icle/Supplemen a y Ma e ial, u he inqui ies can be di ec ed o he co esponding au ho . Au ho con ibu ions SD and TK concei ed he p esen ed idea. SD, TK, LM, MH, and MT discussed he implica ions o he findings and w o e he ini ial d a o he manusc ip . All au ho s con ibu ed o he a icle and app o ed he submi ed e sion. Funding The Funding o he p esen s udy came om he Fede al Minis y o Educa ion and Resea ch in Ge many (BMBF). TK was also unded by Kiel Uni e si y (“Zukun s e ag S udium und Leh e s ä ken”). Acknowledgmen s This a icle would no exis wi hou he en husias ic pa icipa ion o schoolchild en, eache s, and o he olun ee s o he p og am, hei con ibu ion is he co e o he success o he Plas ic Pi a es! Th oughou he yea s, a numbe o di e en F on ie s in En i onmen al Science on ie sin.o g08 Di mann e al. 10.3389/ en s.2023.1233103 o ganiza ions we e in ol ed in he p og am, we a e g a e ul o colleagues om Kiel Science Fac o y, he Ecologic Ins i u e, he Uni e si y Ca ólica del No e, he Ge man Ae ospace Cen e P ojec Managemen Agency, he P ojec Managemen Agency Ka ls uhe, amilie edlich as well as he in e na ional pa ne s o he ini ia i e (h ps://www.plas ic-pi a es.eu/en/pa ne s). A big hanks also goes o Aleks om Ecologic Ins i u e o he language e ision o he manusc ip . Conflic o in e es The au ho s decla e ha he esea ch was conduc ed in he absence o any comme cial o financial ela ionships ha could be cons ued as a po en ial conflic o in e es . Publishe ’s no e All claims exp essed in his a icle a e solely hose o he au ho s and do no necessa ily ep esen hose o hei a filia ed o ganiza ions, o hose o he publishe , he edi o s and he e iewe s. 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