Why watch bees? Motivations of citizen science volunteers in the Great Pollinator Project

The benefits of citizen science to conservation, science, and socio-ecological systems as well as to participants themselves are increasingly recognized and valued, yet what motivates volunteers remains little studied and poorly understood. To better understand citizen scientists' motivations and how they benefit from their participation, we surveyed volunteers in the Great Pollinator Project, a conservation-related project in New York City. We conducted pre- and post-season surveys and focus group sessions to find out who the…