A citizen science research project for secondary schools on urban plant ecology and plant ecological genetics

Research has demonstrated the great potential of citizen science to foster youth participation in current environmental issues, and the participation in citizen science projects offers benefits for both teachers and their students. PUKI is a German citizen science project which focuses on the environmental adaptation of wild plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana (PUKI = Plants, Environment, Climate, Interactions). Citizens identify plant individuals and record plant phenotypic and habitat information, while also collecting plant samples for genetic analysis in the lab. Based on the PUKI concept idea, we provide here an easy-to-use-and-understand outline with instructions for secondary school students to study plant ecological genetics in the frame of a school project and classroom. While an integration of PUKI resources is possible, the school project is a standalone without the PUKI resources. Specifically, we (1) provide a list of topics that represent prerequisite scientific knowledge to understand the plant ecological genetics principles and project idea, (2) present the outcome of an ecological field work on Arabidopsis thaliana as this species grows around schools in many urban environments, (3) present the subsequent analysis of plant phenotypic and genetic data to illustrate the expected outcome for study projects, and (4) provide extensive materials for a study project, including datasets and a detailed protocol which can be adopted for individual needs. With this, students can learn basic genetic concepts, techniques and gene sequence analysis procedures for plant samples, while studying a plant ecological question. Depending on school possibilities, the provided datasets can be used or own datasets created in the classroom. This project is part of a wider effort in Germany and other countries to bring science ‘to the people’ – in this case secondary school students via participatory science communication.