Research
In the latter part of Chalk, Cherries and Chairs, we commissioned research to find out more about our volunteers, young people in High Wycombe and how to diversify our citizen science programmes.
Diversifying Volunteer Engagement with Citizen Science in the Chilterns
This project was conducted to understand and explore ways in which Chilterns National Landscape citizen science projects could diversify our volunteer audience.
We commissioned Support Staffordshire to:
- Research other citizen science projects in the Chilterns and nationally, to understand what is offered by other organisations, whether they also have the same challenges with volunteer diversity or are approaching things differently to reach diverse audiences, and to suggest if the Chilterns National Landscape projects could approach their work differently to reach their objectives for equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Summarise existing research into the barriers and motivations for participation in citizen science and national landscapes, and use this research to advise on best practices for diversifying audience participation with citizen science.
- Review current volunteering with Chilterns National Landscape citizen science project
- Summarise the findings, pull out the main strategic insights and deliver a workshop for Chilterns National Landscape staff to present findings and recommendations.
We hope this research will be used in the future to link with the Chilterns National Landscapes Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategies, and look to provide more accessible citizen science programmes.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Non Commercial 4.0 (CC-BY-NC4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Download the summary poster
Download the full report
Community and Schools Engagement
Commissioned by the Diverse Engagement Cross Themed Working Groups, the group wanted to understand how to best engage with young people in the Chilterns, through understanding how they felt and wanted to connect with their local landscape. Focussing on High Wycombe and working with creative consultant INSTAR, we created an introductory step to listen, learn, and build direct relationships with young people, and in doing so aim to encourage more meaningful and positive level of new understanding and learning.
- A comprehensive research audit was conducted in High Wycombe, which provided a well-rounded overview to inform the subsequent stages of the project.
- Following the research phase, a series of interactive creative workshops were developed to examine how young participants perceive and engage with their local landscape and heritage.
- Building on insights from these creative workshops, the project advanced into a more practical phase, organising experience days in collaboration with key partners: Chiltern Rangers, Wycombe Museum, and the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). These experience days aimed to test and refine ideas generated by the young participants.
The research highlighted different recommendations of how organisations in the Chilterns could better engage with young people living in and around the Chilterns in the future. As part of the CCC legacy plan, we hope to implement some of these findings as well as learn from this research to improve conservation and heritage opportunities for young people. This will continue to strengthen the link between nature and heritage organisations whilst also allowing us to remove barriers, thus reaching a wider and more diverse audience.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Non Commercial 4.0 (CC-BY-NC4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Read the final report
Volunteering in the Central Chilterns
The Volunteer Cross Themed Working Group commissioned Community Impact Bucks to provide baseline data relating to volunteering in the Central Chilterns, sow e could better understand the volunteer journey, and use this research to devise a longer term plan to improve this journey.
Three bespoke surveys exploring conservation, heritage and access volunteering in and around the Central Chilterns landscape area were conducted in April 2024. The surveys received responses from:
- 158 volunteers (over three times more then expected!)
- 39 people who were not currently volunteering
- 13 representatives of volunteer involving organisation
Follow up focus groups for each audience explored specific findings in more depth. These focus groups were attended by:
- 6 representatives of organisations, ranging from volunteer led community groups to large national charities
8 volunteers (in separate focus groups were 5 volunteers who rated their experience highly, and 3 who rated their volunteer experience less highly)
3 people who were not currently volunteering
Overall, volunteers reported they had a great experience, with a small number of volunteers craving more structure, support, joined-up working between organisations, recognition, less bureaucracy and to be informed and involved in the strategic impact of their project. The research highlighted recommendations to act on these points, and to improve the volunteer journey.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Non Commercial 4.0 (CC-BY-NC4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Read the full report
Plan your trip to the Chilterns!
Chalk, Cherries and Chairs
