Motivations, Training and Supervision of Volunteers in Conservation (Research NOTE‪)‬

Introduction Ecological monitoring is widely regarded as fundamental to the protection, utilization and management of the Earth's natural resources (Vaughan et al. 2001, Firbank et al. 2003, Spellerberg 2005). By its very nature, ecological monitoring is labour intensive and expensive, which has contributed to the need for volunteer involvement. In this age of budget constraints and reduced workforces, monitoring is made even more difficult and, in some cases, is not attempted. These factors have further increased the demand for volunteer involvement. Debate exists, however, over the use of volunteers (Greenwood 1994, Root and Alpert 1994, Engel and Voshell 2002). Some research shows that volunteers used in ecological monitoring are capable of producing results of a calibre similar to those of trained researchers (Reynoldson et al. 1986, Mumby et al. 1995, Darwall and Dulvy 1996, Evans et al. 2000, Au et al. 2000, Fore et al. 2001, Engel and Voshell 2002, Nicholson et al. 2002, Foster-Smith and Evans 2003, Newman et al. 2003). This literature also shows that--although volunteers are capable of producing scientifically valid data--much of their value lies within the resulting relationship between the volunteer and the organization.