Heritage Monitoring Scouts: Engaging the Public to Monitor Sites at Risk Across Florida

ABSTRACT

Along Florida’s nearly 13,000 km of shoreline, nearly 4000 archaeological sites and over 600 recorded historic cemeteries are at risk from climate change impacts including coastal erosion and a 2-metre rise in sea level. In 2016, the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) created the Heritage Monitoring Scouts (HMS Florida) programme to engage the public in monitoring sites at risk. The programme grew quickly during the first year of operation to include 233 volunteers who submitted 312 monitoring forms. The programme exists beyond the singular act of a volunteer reporting site conditions; across Florida, varied combinations of local partnerships present unique opportunities for programmes, for example, the pilot program at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. Preliminary outcomes from the first year of HMS Florida and the pilot  indicate the programme is effective in public engagement and a powerful management tool for tracking change to sites over time.

KEYWORDS:

• Public engagement
• climate change
• citizen science
• heritage at risk
• monitoring

Acknowledgements

The authors want to recognise FPAN staff Kevin Gidusko, Jeff Moates, Sara Ayers-Rigsby, Rebecca O’Sullivan, Rachael Kangas, Mike Thomin, Robbie Boggs, Barbara Clark, Tristan Harrenstein, Nicole Grinnan, Kassie Kemps, Nigel Rudolph, Mallory Fenn, Della Scott-Ireton, and William Lees for their contributions in developing the HMS programme. We further thank Jason O’Donoghue, Josh Goodwin, Christine Newman, and Reserve staff Kaitlyn Dietz, Tina Gordon, and Joe Burgess. Finally, we thank the HMS Florida volunteers for their ongoing support and hard work.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Florida Public Archaeology Network, a programme of the University of West Florida.

Notes on contributors

Sarah E. Miller

Sarah E. Miller is an archaeologist and holds an MA from East Carolina University [email protected]

Emily Jane Murray

Emily Jane Murray is an archaeologist and holds an MA from Brandeis University. [email protected]