From citizen science to science education: the experiences of the Natural History Museum of Accademia dei Fisiocritici (MUSNAF) about teaching and learning biodiversity

As citizen science expands, it is becoming increasingly important to consider its potential to foster education and learning opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for public trust to be strengthened, especially concerning collective awareness of biodiversity and its role for sustainable development. In 2020 the Natural History Museum of Accademia dei Fisiocritici promoted citizen science that allowed the Museum to interact with the public, and people to reconnect with nature without leaving home. The inaugural project was "CLIC! Snails and Slugs in Cities", the first Italian crowdsourcing research dedicated to the monitoring of land molluscs in urban environments; CLIC! was followed by “AIDA Animal Intruders Inside Home”. These monitoring projects could help researchers understand the mechanisms of the spread of alien species and the effects of climate change, also empowering and informing learners. Non-formal school education was also used to promote outdoor activities to bring students closer to the environment of their neighborhoods; friendly open-access apps (iNaturalist and Seek) were used to identify biodiversity through image recognition technology. In this sense, educational outdoor itineraries promote skills developing such as understanding of environment as a complex system and supporting “scientific literacy”. Museum offers were recently implemented with Siena BiodiverCity, an education and research project to enhance biodiversity in Siena and promote its conservation through an inclusive approach. A 24-hour BioBlitz took place to start a participative census of urban biodiversity, thanks to the collaboration between citizens and experts. Training sessions were organized with theoretical and field data collection activities. Good practice operations for urban regeneration were also promoted. Finally, the “Biodiversity Desk”, a service to offer free consultations and identification of natural vouchers, is going to be launched. "Siena BiodiverCity" is a model that can be replicated in other cities for a different nature-based education experience.