Bild: OEAD, Sparkling Science: https://oead.at/en/study-research-teaching/citizen-science/center-for-citizen-science/news/article/2026/08/3rd-call-for-proposals-of-sparkling-science-20-starts-on-1-september-2026

In Austria, we can truly enjoy some great opportunities when it comes to Citizen Science! The Sparkling Science calls for proposals by the OeAD are definitely one of them — and the third edition is just around the corner! On September 1, 2026, the third call for proposals of the research funding programme Sparkling Science 2.0 will officially open....

Trees are essential living beings of our cities and communities. They provide shade, improve air quality, increase biodiversity, and contribute significantly to a higher quality of life. In collaboration with SPOTTERON, BUND (Nature Conservation in Bavaria e.V.) developed the mobile and interactive App Mein Baum (My Tree) to support the p...

By stepping over the ten-year mark, SPOTTERON extends its capabilities and introduces a Co-Use Program. For the European Citizen Science Association Conference 2026, our design team crafted a poster to bring insights of the new Co-Use Program and the respective Citizen Science Apps running on the Platform.   Download PDF File Here Si...

The EU Soil Strategy for 2030 describes the layer of soil as this 'magic carpet' which takes thousands of years to be produced. [pane] App running on the SPOTTERON Platform has been recently released to explore this important resource and investigate the soil health across farmlands, grasslands and gardens. The [pane] project led by the Techni...

On the SPOTTERON Citizen Science App Platform, several initiatives are related to Citizen Science projects tackling problems related to marine and freshwater environments. As part of this blog, various aquatic-themed Citizen Science Apps running on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science App Platform will be spotlighted. A special section will be dedicated t...

BoB Behavioural Observations in Beetles

Citizen Science projects often encompass a wide range of participation opportunities. From documenting observations and investigating specific research objects (like in Beweisstück Unterhose), to creating ponds in home gardens to support and study green toads (AmphiApp) — Citizen Science projects on the SPOTTERON platform often go beyond reporting ...

From October 1st to October 3rd, the MINAGRIS General Assembly was held at the Head Office of AGES in Vienna, Austria, bringing together researchers, partners, and people who worked together on the project from all over Europe. Over the course of three days, participants exchanged project updates, talked about major discoveries, and collaborat...

Imagine that all the little things you observe on a daily basis - your daily commute to work, the trees in your street, or the way rain collects on the road - could contribute to bettering your neighbourhood. That's exactly what communiMap - a new Citizen Science project running on the SPOTTERON Plaform aims to do. Led by the University of Glasgow'...

Since the release of the SPOTTERON Platform Version 4.0, citizen science & public engagement projects running on the Platform support multiple image upload per data submission. In practice, multiple image upload features are applied by projects for multiple reasons, for example, bringing more attention to the detail (e.g. for particul...

Recently SPOTTERON took part in contributing to a book chapter entitled: "Connecting People and the Ocean Through Street Art and Citizen Science". The chapter was published in a book "Blue Kinships: An Exploration of Society & the Ocean" edited by Chiara Certoma. In this blog, we will introduce the journey of the book chapter as well as spotlig...

Multi-language capabilities have been extended on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science App Platform. From multiple translations of Project Apps, the platform also supports direct multi-language communication by sending direct messages to all participating citizens. Extended language capabilities have also been integrated in the platform's toolkit for inte...

Art & Citizen Science - #FindWhereFound

As Citizen Scientists, we explore a wide range of species and observe all kinds of perceivable phenomena. These explorations lead to meaningful experiences—experiences that can inspire and shape artistic expression: Art & (Citizen) Science? The connection between experience and art is at the heart of a theory proposed by philosop...

Project Activities on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science Platform

In many Citizen Science projects, there are geographical location-related events or activities to interact with as a participant. Such activities can, for example, be simply a workshop taking place or something more permanent like an exhibition, a nature trail, or a project-related area that needs highlighting. With the integrated system called "Pr...

Creating Communities in Citizen Science Projects

One of the most important aspects of Citizen Science is recognizing that participants voluntarily invest their time and effort into contributing to scientific projects—without compensation. While their passion for nature and curiosity about the environment drive participation, another crucial motivator is often overlooked: the desire to engage and ...

The podcast series was commissioned by the Amsterdamse Bos, and produced by Social Media Men

How do science, citizen science, and nature reinforce each other to address social issues? This key topic was the focus of a podcast recorded last summer by Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest) and the Athena Institute, a research institute of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Last week, the podcast was published, and given the interesting insig...

Prix Ars Electronica Award Ceremony

Last weekend marked a historic moment for Citizen Science in Europe. The first-ever European Union Prize for Citizen Science was awarded on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 at this year's Ars Electronica Festival in Linz. The theme of the event was "Who owns the truth?" - a question that is particularly relevant for Citizen Science. We were on-site and...

Photo used with the kind permission of La Rute del Clima. Photo author: Alfredo Carías

The climate crisis is undeniably reshaping our world, with its impacts becoming increasingly evident across various aspects of life. From record-breaking temperatures and shifting habitats to declining biodiversity and changes in infrastructure and politics, the effects of climate change are both vast and complex. Many of us can easily perceive war...

COSEA is a collaborative, participatory, and community-driven project, funded by the European Union. It focuses on marine environments, marine species, and their habitats, as well as on various innovative approaches to their protection: TRANSEATION and EFFECTIVE are the two science projects that collaborate within COSEA with individual methods and ...

Citizen Science App Green Growth Wildlife Suriname

Suriname has roughly 14 languages - the official and most spoken language is Dutch. One of Suriname's indigenous languages is Trio, which is spoken by the Tarëno, a conglomeration of analogous subgroups and distinct Amerindian groups (Mirella Nankoe, 2017). The total Tarëno population (Tarëno means "people from here") in Suriname can...

As you may have heard, iOS version 17 is on the horizon. A new operating system version introduces new features, polishes existing ones, and carries the torch further. But it also means that the App Store enforces an update of the "base system" on which mobile Apps for iOS are built on, and all existing Apps must be updated to the new software gene...