Uniting citizen science and plural valuation: Potential for leveraging transformative change

The current ecological crisis asks for system-wide transformation toward more sustainable views, structures and practices. Recognition and integration of the plural ways people value nature, including intrinsic, instrumental and relational values, is one of the key aspects of this transformative change. To achieve this, diverse societal actors should participate in decision-making processes of environmental policies. We highlight a form of participation that thus far has not been explicitly linked to plural valuation: citizen science. In this perspective, we demonstrate that citizen science–diverse initiatives where citizens participate in knowledge generation processes—is a space where plural values of nature are articulated, practiced and fostered. Based on four values-centered leverage points, we show potential benefits and areas of advance that integrating citizen science in plural valuation offers for required system-wide transformative change. Finally, we provide recommendations toward fully leveraging the potential of citizen science for plural valuation of nature.