Citizen Science on tour: conferences, kids university and the iDiv summer school 2019

Sunday, 01 September 2019 20:55
Photo: Stefan Bernhardt / iDiv

During summer, many conferences on Citizen Science and other events are happening. To spread the word about Citizen Science and share our experience in creating interactive Citizen Science apps, we had quite a schedule this year..

iDiv Biodiversity Conference

29. - 30. August 2019, Leipzig, DE
Right after the Citizen Science Summer School, the iDiv conference on biodiversity took place in Leipzig. We had a chance to present a preview version of the Citizen Science clip, we produced during the iDiv Summer School. At our stand, we had many exciting exchanges about SPOTTERON, and the impact, a modern and immersive toolkit can have on the public and policymakers. At the conference, we used real Citizen Science apps like Nature's Calender and the new SpiderSpotter app to show how easy it can be to contribute to Citizen Science. One more thing to note is that the iDiv conference is 100% vegetarian, which is a must in times of the imminent climate crisis.

iDiv Summer School

21. - 28. August 2019, Leipzig, DE
Being a mentor at the Summer School by the "iDiv - German Center for integrative biodiversity research" was an enjoyable experience. The participants were a diverse group, not only from Europe but also with young researchers from Brazil, Indonesia, or the United States. Our main task was to lead the group "Citizen Science & communication" and share our experience in how to create video clips and use online media for reaching out. As a co-created project, we made a concept and produced a video clip together with the group, which can be used to get people interested in Citizen Science. Titled "EXPLORE CITIZEN SCIENCE", the clip introduces different actors doing Citizen Science, from biodiversity monitoring to bird watching and water analysis. With a long verison and 3 short espidoe versions planned, there is still some work ahead to cut and produce this Citizen Science video. To have the co-created work from the iDiv Sumemr School reach as much impact as possible, we will release all clips as Creative Commons to be shared and used freely by the CitSci Community. Stay tuned and follow up on twitter or subscribe to our Newsletter at www.spotteron.net to see the videos as soon as they are released officially!

Read more about the iDiv Summer School 2019 in the official press release here: https://www.idiv.de/en/news/news_single_view/news_article/idiv_summer-1.html

5th Austrian Citizen Science Conference 2019

26. - 29. June 2019, Obergurgl, AT
The 5th Austrian Citizen Science Conference took place in Obergurgl, Austria this year. The location is the most elevated university institute in Austria and is situated in the Ötztal mountain range. The Citizen Science conference is organized by "Österreich forscht", the national hub for Citizen Science in Austria. We held a talk on the protection of personal data in Citizen Science apps and how privacy in an online world works and shared some tips how to run Citizen Science tools without privacy issues. At the conference, we had a table to present SPOTTERON and the new Citizen Science projects, running on the platform to the attendees. We were especially happy that many of the Austrian projects, running on the SPOTTERON platform were present at the conference. Thomas Hübner (ZAMG) gave a talk about how mobile apps increase participation in the phenology Citizen Science program "Nature's Calender" of Austria, Taru Sanden (AGES) introduced the new Tea Bab Index App and Dido Frigerio (KLF) talked about data quality in Citizen Science apps from her team's experience with the "Forschen im Almtal" and "Waldrapp" CitSci Apps.

AGIT 2019

3. - 5. July 2019, Salzburg, AT
The Austrian Geo-Informatics Symposium took place in Salzburg, Austria with an opening keynote bythe European Space Agency ESA and a special session about Citizen Science later during the 3 days of the conference. We were contributing to the poster session with an overview of the SPOTTERON platform and how the synergies effects for projects work in detail. At the AGIT 2019, we also met up with contacts from the University of Salzburg to talk about a possbile new Citizen Science and Science Education project, which will perhaps have its release on the SPOTTERON Platform in 2020.

Kinderuni Linz & Kinderuni Almtal

8. & 10. July 2019, Linz, Scharnstein, AT
Quite a contrast to the conferences, we did teach at the "University for kids" at two locations this year. Being a "professor" at the Kids University is always a great experience. We introduced Citizen Science to the young generation and took various Citizen Science apps to test with the group. In our view, it is not only essential to getting the young generation involved in interactive science but also to get feedback from this group of users. Citizen Science smartphone apps are the natural form of communication for those who are growing up in a connected world. Both Kids Universities have been a great success and it is always a vital experience.

Projects & Apps open for Co-Use on SPOTTERON

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Social initiative Data Collection App
SPOTTERON

ArtSpots is a community-built art atlas. Through the App, people interested in various art forms like street art, historical or contemporary art, photography, architecture, and more can put their art observations on the map and discover art spots in their city or while travelling. The art community in the App allows exchanging with other like-minded people and contributing to a worldwide art collection.
Learn more about
ArtSpots
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Horizon Europe Citizen Science App

With the COSEA App, Citizen Scientists can observe marine environments, document coastal habitats or species, and report on pollution, infrastructure and the blue economy. Their contributions on the map and activity in the app will help scientists better understand the impacts and drivers of marine factors to protect and foster a healthy relationship between humans and seas.

Learn more about
COSEA | Collaboration for Effective Sea Action
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Environmental Citizen Science, Data Collection App
SPOTTERON

NatureSpots is a non-commercial and free project to discover nature together. In the app, nature photos and sightings of animals, plants or mushrooms can be shared with the community on the map. The app is a new initiative for observing nature and taking part is very simple and straightforward. The app is free of advertising, does not track users and takes digital privacy seriously.

Learn more about
NatureSpots
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Social initiative Community Engagement App
SPOTTERON

The new citizen participation uses "Citizen Science" in their hometown and nationwide to get User's feedback on places. As a result, citizens are empowered to become active in a city worth living in to collect and share data themselves and to interact with scientists. This enables them to recognize the consequences of sealing, heat, water shortages, and a lack of biodiversity, and generally, how places in their own environment affect us all.

Learn more about
CIVO Citizen Voice
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Horizon 2020 Invasive Species Monitoring App

The IPM-Popillia Horizon 2020 project aims to address the challenge of a new risk to plant health in Europe's agriculture and food safety: the invasion of the Japanese Beetle, Popillia japonica. This invasive species was introduced accidentally to mainland Europe in 2014 and can quickly spread by transportation and trade. As a species with a wide range of feeding plants, P. japonica threatens the entire agricultural sector, urban landscapes, and biodiversity in invaded areas.

Learn more about
IPM Popillia | Integrated Pest Management of the Japanese Beetle
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Environmental Community Engagement App

Fridays for Future see itself as a horizontal, grassroots grassroots movement that acts apolitically and refers to science for the facts. To engage the global population more, this app was developed using SPOTTERON. The aim is to find out how the population perceives the climate crisis and which positive and negative emotions are associated with specific topics related to biodiversity and climate crisis.

Learn more about
FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE - Climate App

Are you interested in co-using existing Apps? Get in Contact!

Get in contact for co-use here

 

 

Short News

  • New study from BiciZen project: "BiciZen: Lessons in the Development of a Crowdsourcing Mobile App to Make Cities More Bikeable" published in Journal of Participatory Research Methods. More studies available under the publication page here.

    in Shortnews
  • Roadkill project has made wonderful short videos for the citizen scientists! The videos include the Roadkill App functions regarding how to confirm & comment on the spots and how to best take the photos for the project. The videos (in German) are available in the "Österreich forscht" blog here. 

    in Shortnews

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