Quantifying the impact of environmental education and outreach on citizen science reports of an endangered neotropical raptor

In the current context of biodiversity loss, scientists face a research–implementation gap which hinders the effectiveness of conservation measures. Environmental education and citizen science allow for an increased awareness of the general public and a subsequent involvement in research and conservation activities, promoting the discovery of threatened and/or elusive species. Yet, few studies have evaluated the impact of environmental education on citizen science outcomes. We performed a qualitative and quantitative assessment of environmental education and outreach as a tool for gathering citizen science data of the endangered and rare Chaco eagle ( Buteogallus coronatus ). Then, we examined the spatial and temporal scale of species' field sightings and posterior report via citizen science, related to the places and the time when we performed the activities, and analyzed the effects of sociodemographic variables (population size and type of occupation) on the number, the distances, and the times elapsed between the activities and the reports. In 1 year, citizen science sightings reported due to the environmental education campaign doubled those of the last 10 years combined, helping us to discover 10 nests where only one had been found in the last decades. Most sightings occurred in the first dozens of kilometers and in the first months from (and after) the activity location (and time) and decreased thereafter. Sightings were mainly reported by people attending talks at elementary schools, meetings with producers, and in‐person interviews. Landowners, rural workers, photographers, and naturalists were the job guilds reporting more sightings. Environmental education activities at less‐populated villages yielded more sightings per attendee, although in bigger towns a few people reported a large proportion of the sightings. Any environmental education campaign aimed at collecting citizen science data on rare species of conservation interest should be carefully planned in terms of spatiotemporal extent, focus groups, and activity types or approaches.