Citizen science practice around Lake Pamvotis and the Ioannina Castle: Using iNaturalist to foster connectedness to nature in citizens and university students

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While crowdsourcing applications that can support decision-making are increasing in volume, citizen science practice in Greece is in its early stages. The article presents the design of a BioBlitz that took place in the Ioannina Castle and aims to complement the natural and cultural heritage assessment of the specific site through the participation of 116 citizens and university students. The iNaturalist mobile application and online social network were used as basic tools for recording biodiversity and assisting in the identification process. Before the activity, participants received basic training through an open course in Science Education offered by the School of Early Childhood Education at the University of Ioannina. Additionally, participants completed pre-questionnaire of the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS). The results revealed that >26% of almost 1000 observations received a research grade, while 207 species were recorded, engaging 191 identifiers. The analysis of both the pre-questionnaires and the post-questionnaires that were collected a week after the BioBlitz, showed a statistically significant positive shift in the levels of CNS. However, low intensity and small scale of the activity should be considered, and multiple interventions or long-time programs could supply more robust findings.