Let us explore the mechanisms through which the integration of sporting practices and the sciences fosters participatory and innovative research projects. Theoretical concepts and practical applications of this interdisciplinary approach.

Leaving one’s comfort zone / Physical engagement / Experiential learning / Interdisciplinarity / Transfer of skills / Observation in natural environments / Participatory data collection / Social capital / Co-creation of value / Social innovation / Participatory engagement / Interdisciplinary collaboration / Synergy / Use of information technologies and sensors

Participatory research, or citizen science, is gaining importance in the context of a democratization of knowledge in which citizens become actors in research (Bonney et al., 2009). At the same time, outdoor sporting and physical activities — such as diving, sailing, climbing, caving, hiking or trekking — not only make it possible to explore environments that are often otherwise inaccessible, but also stimulate curiosity, observation and experiential learning (Dewey, 1910).
The integration of these two fields opens up new perspectives for the development of impactful scientific projects, in which direct observation and field data collection are embedded in a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach. This innovative paradigm is based on several key concepts, which we detail in the following section.

Underlying Concepts in the Integration of Sporting Practices and the Sciences

Physical Engagement and Experiential Learning

 Experiential Learning:
Inspired by the work of John Dewey (1910) and Kolb (1984), this concept posits that learning is optimized through direct experience. Participation in sporting or outdoor activities offers a natural framework for experimentation in which learners can observe, experiment and reflect on their experiences.

 Mobilization and Physical Engagement:
Sporting practices stimulate physical and sensory engagement, promoting better integration of information through bodily activity. This connection between body and mind is essential for fine-grained observation and qualitative data collection in natural environments (Shams & Seitz, 2008).

Interdisciplinarity and Transfer of Skills

 Interdisciplinary Approach:
The convergence between sporting practices and the sciences makes it possible to adopt a cross-cutting approach that brings together skills from a variety of disciplines. For example, diving makes it possible to study marine biodiversity (biology), water quality (chemistry) and underwater geology, while climbing or trekking offer opportunities to explore geological formations or archaeological remains (Palaeontology/Archaeology).

 Transfer of Skills:
Skills acquired in a sporting context — such as risk management, resilience, strategic planning and team collaboration — can be transferred and enrich scientific practice (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995).

Observation in Natural Environments and Data Collection

 Direct Observation:
One of the major strengths of outdoor activities is direct access to natural environments. This fosters empirical observation and real-time data collection, which are essential for validating scientific hypotheses under authentic conditions (Bonney et al., 2016).

 Participatory Collection Methods:
The use of technological tools (mobile applications, sensors, GPS) in the context of these activities facilitates the structured collection of data by citizens, thereby enabling effective integration into scientific databases and longitudinal monitoring (Haklay, 2013).

Collaboration, Social Capital and Co-creation of Value

 Social Capital and Networking:
Participation in group sporting activities creates strong social bonds, fostering the creation of mutual-aid networks and mutual trust. This social capital is a lever for the emergence of fruitful collaborations in participatory research projects (Putnam, 2000).

 Co-creation of Value:
By involving citizens in research projects, a dynamic of co-creation is fostered in which everyone contributes their skills and experience, generating shared value and results that are more relevant to the community (Vargo & Lusch, 2008).

Innovation and Participatory Approaches

 Social Innovation:
Integrating sporting practices with innovative scientific projects makes it possible to rethink methods of data collection and analysis, while stimulating creativity and initiative among participants (Moulaert et al., 2005).

 Participatory Engagement:
The participatory approach means that citizens become full actors in the research process, thereby strengthening their sense of belonging and their motivation to contribute to impactful projects (Bonney et al., 2009).

Applications and Practical Examples

Citizen Science Projects in Marine and Coastal Environments

 Diving and Marine Biodiversity:
Projects such as Reef Check mobilize divers to monitor the health of coral reefs, thereby enabling continuous data collection on marine biodiversity and the impacts of climate change (Spalding et al., 2017).

Projects in Terrestrial and Mountain Environments

 Climbing, Hiking and Archaeology:
Initiatives combining hiking and archaeology allow participants to discover historical sites while collecting data on site erosion or the preservation of remains (Price, 2012). Similarly, field palaeontology projects mobilize climbing enthusiasts to access rocky areas that are difficult to reach.

Field Astronomy Projects

 Astronomical Observation and Mobility:
Some projects combine trekking and camping activities with astronomical observation in areas with low light pollution. This makes it possible to collect data on the quality of the night sky and to involve citizens in research on light pollution (Smith et al., 2019).

Discussion

The integration of sporting and physical practices into participatory research projects offers multiple benefits. On the one hand, it enables total immersion in the environment being studied, providing a realistic and contextual perspective on the observed phenomena. On the other hand, it promotes experiential learning that stimulates participants’ engagement, motivation and creativity. Physical activities, as vectors of social capital and interaction, strengthen the collaborative networks that are essential to the success of citizen science projects. Finally, the use of technological tools for data collection makes it possible to structure this information and integrate it into databases that can be used by the scientific community.

However, many challenges remain, particularly with regard to coordinating activities, training participants and scientifically validating the data collected. The adoption of an interdisciplinary and participatory approach requires an investment of time and resources, but offers the potential to generate major innovations in research methods and the dissemination of knowledge.

Conclusion

The integrated approach combining sporting practices and the sciences in a participatory format represents a promising avenue for citizen research and experiential learning. The fundamental concepts — physical engagement, interdisciplinarity, observation in natural environments, social capital, co-creation of value and social innovation — constitute the foundation on which these projects are based. For students and future researchers, understanding these mechanisms offers an enriched perspective on how to address contemporary challenges and actively contribute to the production of knowledge by mobilizing human and technological resources in a synergistic way.

Exercise 1 — Transforming a sporting practice into a scientific observation protocol

Objective of the exercise

Identify how a sporting activity already practised — hiking, kayaking, sailing, diving, climbing, orienteering, cycling, caving, urban walking or another activity — can become the basis for a Participatory Science protocol, without losing its sporting, educational and human dimension.

Instructions

Choose a sporting activity that you practise, lead or could integrate into a project. Then fill in the following elements:

• Environment crossed or explored: coastline, forest, mountain, river, city, cave, agricultural area, reef, lake, night sky, etc.
• Possible scientific question: what could be observed, measured, documented or compared in this environment?
• Data collectable by participants: photos, sounds, GPS measurements, temperature, observed species, waste, traces, water quality, behaviours, weather, human uses, feelings, incidents, etc.
• Collection moment: before the effort, during the activity, during a break, on arrival, during the reflective debriefing.
• Simple tool: field notebook, smartphone, paper form, mobile application, sensor, map, observation grid, audio recording, geolocated photo.
• Safety rule: under what condition must data collection never interfere with sporting safety?
• Restitution: how will the data be made visible to participants and useful to the project?

Working question

How can we ensure that the participant is not only someone who “does sport,” but gradually becomes a reliable observer, a co-investigator and a recognized contributor to the scientific project?

Expected result

At the end of the exercise, you should obtain an initial 10-line protocol sheet capable of connecting:

• a sporting activity;
• a scientific question;
• simple data collection;
• a safety rule;
• participants’ development of skills;
• a useful restitution.

Point of attention

The protocol must remain proportionate. A sporting activity must not become a pretext for overloading participants. Scientific data must be integrated naturally into the sporting gesture, the rhythm of the group and the experience of the environment.

Exercise 2 — Building a progression: from practitioner to capable participant

Objective of the exercise

Design a pedagogical progression enabling participants to move from an initial sporting experience to stronger involvement in the Participatory Science project, while developing autonomy, responsibility, confidence, cooperation and initiative-taking capacity.

Instructions

Imagine a sequence in 5 stages. For each stage, indicate what the participant learns at the sporting, scientific, collective and personal levels.

Stage 1 — Discover

The participant discovers the activity, the environment, the safety rules and the meaning of the project.

To specify:

• What basic sporting gesture do they learn?
• What first scientific observation can they make?
• What fear, hesitation or representation can they overcome?
• How does the group help them enter into the activity?

Stage 2 — Observe

The participant learns to look differently: no longer merely to “see,” but to identify, compare, note and question.

To specify:

• What detail of the environment must they learn to recognize?
• What simple data can they collect?
• What role can they play in the group?
• How do they learn to trust their observation?

Stage 3 — Contribute

The participant produces data or information that is useful to the project.

To specify:

• What concrete contribution do they make?
• How is the quality of this contribution verified?
• How do they receive feedback?
• How do they understand that their action matters for the collective project?

Stage 4 — Take responsibility

The participant becomes capable of playing a more active role: guiding, explaining, checking, documenting, helping a peer, preparing an outing or contributing to a decision.

To specify:

• What responsibility can they assume without being put in difficulty?
• What sporting or scientific skill shows that they are progressing?
• How do they learn to manage uncertainty, error or fatigue?
• How does the project recognize their growth in capacity?

Stage 5 — Transmit

The participant becomes capable of explaining to others what they have learned, how they learned it, and why it serves the scientific project.

To specify:

• What can they transmit to a new participant?
• What part of the protocol can they explain?
• What personal experience can they recount?
• How does this transmission strengthen their autonomy and self-esteem?

Working question

At what precise moment does the participant cease to be merely a beneficiary of the activity, in order to become an actor in the project, and then possibly a co-leader of part of the system?

Expected result

At the end of the exercise, you should produce a 5-stage progression showing how sport simultaneously serves:

• the scientific project;
• data quality;
• participants’ development of skills;
• their long-term involvement;
• their personal construction.

Point of attention

Self-transcendence must never be confused with putting people in danger. The progression must remain chosen, accompanied, safe, inclusive and adapted to participants’ bodies, cultures, ages and levels.

Exercise 3 — Connecting effort, data and personal transformation

Objective of the exercise

Help the project designer explicitly connect three dimensions that often remain separate: the sporting experience lived, the production of scientific knowledge and the participant’s individual transformation.

Instructions

After a sporting activity integrated into a Participatory Science project, organize a 20- to 30-minute reflective debriefing. Use three columns: what we experienced, what we learned, what we can transform into data or a project.

Column 1 — What we experienced

Ask participants to describe the bodily and collective experience:

• What was easy?
• What was difficult?
• At what moment was I afraid, doubtful, hesitant or tempted to give up?
• At what moment did I gain confidence?
• Who helped me?
• Whom did I help?
• What role did I play in the group?
• What did I discover about my way of acting?

Column 2 — What we learned

Bring out the learning useful to the project:

• What did we understand better about the environment?
• What signals did we learn to identify?
• What errors taught us something?
• What decisions did we have to make?
• What sporting skills helped scientific observation?
• What scientific skills changed our way of practising sport?
• What did we understand about cooperation, safety, attention or responsibility?

Column 3 — What we can transform into data or a project

Transform the experience into scientific, pedagogical or operational material:

• What data could be collected more systematically next time?
• What protocol needs to be simplified or improved?
• What participant role needs to be created?
• What short training should be added?
• What tool would be useful: map, form, application, sensor, notebook, photo, video?
• What research question appears after this experience?
• What action could be carried out with a school, an association, a laboratory, a local authority or a group of citizens?

Working question

How can we ensure that the effort experienced does not remain only a personal experience, but becomes a source of learning, data, responsibility and lasting engagement?

Expected result

At the end of the exercise, the group should produce:

• a list of 3 individual learnings;
• a list of 3 collective learnings;
• a list of 3 data points or observations useful to the scientific project;
• a concrete improvement to the protocol;
• a new possible responsibility for the most involved participants;
• a synthesis sentence explaining how sport strengthened both the research project and the construction of individuals.

Point of attention

This reflective debriefing time is essential. Without it, sport risks remaining a separate activity. With it, the sporting gesture becomes a learning gesture, lived experience becomes material for research, and the participant understands how their personal experience can contribute to collective knowledge.