Following the evaluation process, 25 exemplary citizen science initiatives have been selected to participate in the ScienceUs Upscale Academy. These projects, addressing challenges related to climate change adaptation, have demonstrated significant potential for scalability and impact across various European regions. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the selected teams and look forward to supporting their journey toward broader implementation and success.

Following a rigorous selection process, 25 outstanding citizen science projects have been chosen to participate in the ScienceUs Upscale Academy.

Science Photo POSTs: the Science Photo POST s project was designed to promote participatory science in the field of coastal management by engaging citizens in capturing photographic data on coastline conditions and changes over time.

Blue-Green Tops: Adapting Building Roofs for Climate Resilience: This project harnesses the power of Citizen Science (CS) to capture data necessary to accelerate roof transformation and uses Colouring Cities Research Programme /The Alan Turing Institute’s (CCRP ,colouringcities.org) open platform code and infrastructure to enable standardised microspatial data on roofs and buildings to be crowdsourced, visualised, and shared.

Citizen Science for Resilient and Adaptable Islands: This project aims to bridge the gap between climate adaptation policies and the realities of small European islands through citizen science.

GelAvista – citizen science at the service of the marine ecosystems: Τhe project engagees volunteers in monitoring jellyfish diversity, distribution, abundance, and seasonality in mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira archipelagos.

LC3 – Lemesos City Cooling Challenge: LC3 leverages citizen science to co-create climate adaptation solutions for urban cooling in Lemesos, Cyprus.

The Future is Climate: the Future is Climate (FIC) is a citizen participation initiative focused on understanding the main obstacles holding back climate action in Spain, in order to grapple with the complexity of the matter and find common ground by bringing out society’s collective intelligence.

Rewilding food: Citizen Science to Increase the Climate Resilience of Agroecosystems and Diet: The project enhances resilience through bottom-up knowledge-sharing, ensuring sustainable development and better resource allocation.

EU-SHORE – Best Practices for Sustainable Habitat and Ocean Recovery Education in Europe: EU-SHORE leverages citizen science to combat “hydrological blindness” and enhance climate resilience through community-driven education and research.

EduMove – Boosting bike use in Tirana, Albania: The EduMove project focuses on promoting sustainable mobility among school-aged children in the Kamëz area of Tirana.

Melanogaster Catch the Fly! The citizen science network in adaptation genomics: MCTF citizen science project engages teachers, students, and citizens from rural areas from Spain in the study of Drosophila melanogaster as part of the European research network DrosEU, comprising 73 laboratories across 28 countries

MINDS: Measuring Impact of Norms in climate Disaster Scenarios: The project investigates climate risk perception and collective action through a game-based approach in Emilia Romagna, a region that experienced devastating floods in May 2023 and 2024.

URBAN500 Walkability Platform: URBAN500 Platform project builds upon the results of the URBAN500, a CS-driven initiative of Placemaking Western Balkans, (PWB) with a clear mission: to start constructing a robust open database on the quality of pedestrian spaces in the densely populated areas of the Balkan cities.

Citizen Science-Powered Monitoring of Coastal Erosion: The ACTION project monitors coastal erosion by employing Smart Pebbles – standard pebbles collected on the beach under study embedded with Radio Frequency identification (RFID) tags which can be detected by a hand-operated Reader.

MountainsAlive: The MountainsAlive project harnesses citizen science to study and raise awareness of climate change’s impact on microbial biodiversity in high-altitude lakes of the Pyrenees.

Observadores del Mar: Focusing on target organisms, its projects gather information on climate change impacts: shifts in species distribution in native and alien species, episodic events, and phenological changes.

Citizen SeaWatch: It is a citizen science initiative designed to protect marine and coastal ecosystems by involving the public in monitoring illegal activities, tracking invasive species and gathering vital data on marine biodiversity.

SCI-FI Europe: Expanding Science for Inclusion Across Borders: SCI-FI Europe seeks to create a transnational network of inclusive, sustainable farming communities by integrating digital technologies and citizen science to address climate change.

Night owl 2.0: This project aims to reconnect people with nature and the landscape around them by getting to know their local owl species, which is an important goal for the European continent.

Acqua Sorgente: The project implements and maintain a national database of spring monitoring data and analyze the data for hydrological research and water protection.

Alleviating Energy Poverty in Vulnerable households: This project addresses energy poverty as a key barrier to climate adaptation in vulnerable communities.

Learning from Seahorses with a Biomimicry Perspective: The project aims to support the seahorses in Spain’s National Catalogue of Endangered Species, contributing to national conservation policies.

Drop of Air: This initiative embodies the principles of citizen science by involving non-experts in scientific research, fostering public awareness about the impact of air quality on health, and creating a platform for data-driven action, awareness of air and water pollution, degradation of biodiversity, and health risks.

EcoVoce – Scaling Up Citizen Science for Environmental Impact: EcoVoce is a citizen science project addressing environmental challenges in the Arieș River region, North-West Romania. It tackles air and water pollution, biodiversity loss, and health risks from plastic, waste burning, and materials like asbestos.

Mapping cyanobacterial toxic potential in European freshwaters together with citizens: This project aims to map cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwaters by involving citizens as key contributors.

¡Por otra Alimentación, Jóvenes en Acción!: The main aim is to generate knowledge that inspires behavioral change among other young people, showcasing local producers and options to “buy and eat without devouring the planet”, that is, within its planetary boundaries.

These projects have demonstrated high scalability potential, ensuring a strong foundation for broader implementation and policy impact across Europe.