At SPOTTERON we strongly believe that Citizen Science Apps can serve as a space for interactive collaboration in reaching positive change. Multi-level engagement, participatory processes and transdisciplinary approach are also principles shared by the New European Bauhaus which aims to reimagine sustainable living in Europe by bringing various acto...

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...

On the SPOTTERON Platform, project teams and researchers can reach out to all participants via an integrated communication tool, called "Project Messages". The tool enables projects to disseminate news and updates, inform all participants, send links to everyone to new blog posts or pages, and tell stories. Communication is an important part of eve...

Horizon Europe is the scientific successor to the Horizon 2020 research framework programme of the European Union, under the leadership of the European Commission. Enhancing research in the fields of climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN, and EU competitiveness are the main goals of Horizon Europe. Furthermore, Horizon ...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

On January 15th and 16th, 2025, leading scientists, researchers, and stakeholders gathered in Larnaca, Cyprus, for the latest meeting of the EFFECTIVE Consortium. This international collaboration is dedicated to advancing environmental data management, coastal sustainability, and innovative technological solutions to address ecological challenges i...

The year 2024 is coming to a close, and soon we are off for the winter holidays! It was an exciting year, new technologies have been developed and integrated, new Horizon Europe projects rolling on, new team members joining SPOTTERON and so many new Citizen Science Apps and projects starting on the platform. As it is tradition, we design ...

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...

Every so often, the journey is the reward. When it comes to Citizen Science projects that include data about paths and routes traveled by citizens in the research, recording such geospatial data live is a crucial feature. Projects from areas like environmental health, urban transportation, or social science studies can benefit from being able to en...

Is it strange to live still optimistically and in hope in times of the polycrisis? This question was posed at this year's Ars Electronica Festival in Linz with the theme HOPE. We attended the festival in early September, and in this blog, we'll briefly discuss the workshop "Plant Life on the POSTCITY Roof" led by botanist Friedrich Schwarz. Togethe...

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...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a useful tool for analyzing data and supporting research. While the currently more popular forms of generative AI is impacting our daily lives and society and carries a considerable amount of risks, the intergration of predictive AI in interactive Apps can be highly beneficial for data analysis an...

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 ...

While we made our preparations for the European Citizen Science Association ECSA conference in Vienna, we had another task on our to-do list: let's make a game for the public day in the museum! But it is not any kind of game, it is the (probably) the largest computer game in Austria! In the Natural History Museum in Vienna, there is the "Deck ...

In the last months, the IPM Popillia project, funded by Horizon 2020, has collaborated with SPOTTERON to create informational and dissemination materials about the invasive Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica), which has been spreading across Europe for several years. As part of the IPM Popillia Consortium, SPOTTERON created...

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...

In many Citizen Science projects, there are distinct data categories which have a sensitive nature. From endangered species to details about personal lives in social science programmes, working with such data elements requires an additional level of protection and security. An integrated feature for better data safety in Citizen Science Together wi...

The SPOTTERON platform is always extending and together with projects across Europe, Australia, America, and Africa, new features and functionalities are constantly developed. With a new set of major core extensions and the overhaul of important system-related functionalities, the new platform version, SPOTTERON FOUR, brings new innovative tools an...