Ten Strategies for Starting a Successful Volunteer Monitoring Program

Are you hoping to start a shorebird monitoring program at your site, or looking for tips on how to strengthen an existing monitoring effort?

Monitoring provides key information to quantify a site’s importance for shorebirds, and when the data is well-managed and strategically shared, it can inform and influence conservation action.

The key to a successful monitoring program is longevity and consistency. Comparing data from year to year can reveal changes in how shorebirds are using a site, or indicate that habitat conditions may be changing. Long-term data sets are critical to estimating shorebird population sizes and trends, and this information can be used to evaluate the conservation status of a species.

But how can we ensure our volunteer-based monitoring programs will last long enough to generate this important information? WHSRN’s shorebird monitoring specialist Arne Lesterhuis and community engagement expert Laura Chamberlin put their heads together to synthesize some tried and true strategies for protocol design, volunteer retention, data quality and collection, and more.

Here are ten strategies from the WHSRN Executive Office for starting (and maintaining!) a successful long-term shorebird monitoring program at your site.

Choose an existing protocol to keep it simple.

If possible, select an existing protocol to eliminate the challenges of developing one from scratch. This creates opportunities for national and international collaboration to increase the impact of your data. In the Western Hemisphere, there are several monitoring programs that have been running for many years, and each have played a role in many conservation and management decisions. Plugging into these existing survey designs keeps things simple, which will reduce complexity to improve volunteer retention.

Pick a program that matches your resources, volunteer capacity, and research needs.

Make sure you can maintain your monitoring program for the long-term. Choose a protocol that will address your key research questions, but that can also be sustained. Consider the funding, number of volunteers, and skills of volunteers that are available to you. Be realistic!

Clearly define your survey methods and be consistent.

Delineate your census area(s). Set standards for counting at the same time of day, in the same season, during the same tidal stage. This consistency is critical to facilitate comparisons from year to year and to allow new volunteers to take over a survey site if needed.

Set clear expectations upfront for what volunteers will give and gain by participating.

Be clear with volunteers from the very beginning about participation requirements. What is the annual time commitment? What skills do they need to have or be willing to learn? Make sure they know why monitoring is important, and let them know how participating can contribute to conservation.

Invest in training your volunteers.

Host an annual training for volunteers to help them gain confidence with your survey methods and clearly understand the full monitoring protocol. Training will also help to ensure data quality does not vary. If you can’t gather in person, organize a meeting online. As your volunteers build experience, these regular gatherings can become an opportunity for following up, presenting results, reviewing the protocol, evaluating data quality, and asking for feedback from participants.

Spend limited funds on long-lasting needs.

Some monitoring programs compensate volunteers for fuel, food, and lodging costs. But if this funding fizzles, so can your volunteers. If you have limited funding, consider putting it towards long-lasting equipment like binoculars and spotting scopes. Have volunteers sign an agreement that outlines what is expected of them in trade for borrowing the equipment.

Prioritize volunteer appreciation.

Interested and engaged volunteers are more likely to commit for the long-term. Show your appreciation by building community. Host annual gatherings or create an online group for interaction. Offer workshops, gear, or opportunities to improve birding and citizen science skills. Create a sense of pride and purpose in the field by ensuring that volunteers know how their data are contributing to conservation efforts.

Make data collection easy and manageable.

Choose a platform that is accessible online, easy to use, and perhaps something volunteers are already familiar with, like eBird. For long-term data collection, prioritize a database that allows information to be well-stored and easily managed. Remember your protocol may require a data collection system that allows inputs other than just species counts, such as temperature, time, and tide.

Use existing networks and then expand for recruitment.

Use social networks and the networks of your volunteers to spread the word about your program and its results. Participate in local bird club meetings and events at community organizations, schools, and universities. Ask your most enthusiastic volunteers to be ambassadors for the program recruiting new help.