ScienceUs SEED PHASE: pROJECTS
Science Photo POSTs
Country: Portugal
Lead organisation: Centro Ciência Viva do Algarve
Short Description:
Initiated in 2016, 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. Inspired by the Irish Glendalough Photo Post concept, the project capitalizes on the following regional features: – The Algarve coast is frequented by thousands of visitors who walk along the shoreline daily, often photographing the landscape.- Effective coastal management requires consistent and systematic observation. – The spatial and temporal variability of the coastal environment remains insufficiently understood and requires further exploration. Developed by the CentroCiência Viva do Algarve (Interactive Science Center in Faro), the project was awarded initial seed funding in 2015 by the National Agency for Scientific Culture – Ciência Viva. The photographic database generated was intended to support researchers at the CIMA Research Centre (University of Algarve), municipal technicians, and the Portuguese Environment Agency in coastal management initiatives and to raise public awareness of climate change impacts through educational efforts at the science center. Since 2016, citizens have contributed images from several beaches where the photo posts were installed. However, limitations in website tools and a shortage of human resources have hindered the effective utilization and analysis of the collected data.
Objectives & Goals:
To promote participatory science in the field of coastal management by engaging citizens in capturing photographic data on coastline conditions and changes over time.
Website: https://www.sciencepost.pt/
Blue-Green Tops: Adapting Building Roofs for Climate Resilience
Country: Greece
Lead organisation: University of Patras
Short Description:
Urban rooftops hold great potential for climate adaptation. Commonly made of high heat-capacity materials, they contribute to urban heat islands. Transforming them into blue-green roofs can cool cities, manage rainwater, enhance biodiversity, and improve living conditions. However, suitability depends on factors such as roof structure, age, and exposure to sun and wind. This project harnesses the power of Citizen Science (CS) to capture data necessary to accelerate roof transformation using the Colouring Cities Research Programme (CCRP, https://colouringcities.org/) open platform code and infrastructure to enable standardised microspatial data on roofs and buildings to be crowdsourced, visualised, and shared. Dense urban areas like in Athens and Istanbul facing severe heat threats, offer prime opportunity for climate adaption and act as the starting point for blue-green transformation. This transformation is only achievable with active citizen and local stakeholder involvement, as their awareness and participation are crucial. Through citizen science, the project offers actionable, science-based solutions for enhancing climate resilience and presents a scalable, global model for the transformation of urban rooftops.
Objectives & Goals:
The CCRP expands on the citizen science activities that started with “Colouring Dresden” at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (Germany) and is now to be extended with University of Patras (Greece) and the Technical University of Istanbul (Turkey). The project has three main objectives: (1) the further development of “Colouring Athens”, (2) the initiation of “Colouring Istanbul” and (3) the use of citizen science to collaboratively map information on rooftops, assess suitability and support their transformation into blue-green systems.
Website: https://www.upatras.gr/en/
Citizen Science for Resilient and Adaptable Islands
Country: Croatia
Lead organisation: Association Tatavaka
Short Description:
Quality data collection and analysis are crucial for creating efficient climate change adaptation policies. However, existing EU, national and local climate policies are mostly designed with urban settings in mind. This means that development indicators measuring the effectiveness of these policies often fail to capture the specifics of remote, rural and less populated areas such as small European islands. Pronounced vulnerability to consequences of climate change, isolation and already low accessibility to services, particular social dynamics and lacking human resources, infrastructure deficiencies and fragile island economies are left invisible, exacerbating the risk of inadequate adaptation of island populations to the changing climate. Our project addresses the gap between policies and island realities using citizen science. According to Abo Akademi University, “being habitable [is] the prerequisite for a sustainable society that can take care of its inhabitants, its nature and the surrounding sea” Habitability is a novel, citizen science-based approach that brings real, localised meaning to concepts such as sustainability and adaptation by relying on the power of local knowledge and love of islanders for their islands. We propose mobilising citizen science in order to collect specific, relevant data that tells the whole story of what resilience and adaptation mean on European islands. It is the story that EU policy makers, academia, businesses and citizens need to hear.
Objectives & Goals:
This project aims to bridge the gap between climate adaptation policies and the realities of small European islands through citizen science. By mobilizing local communities, it seeks to collect high-quality, context-specific data that reflect the true challenges of island sustainability. The project empowers islanders to actively contribute to climate policies, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making processes. Through a bottom-up approach, it fosters resilience, adaptation, and sustainable development by integrating local knowledge with scientific research. Ultimately, it aspires to influence EU climate strategies, making them more inclusive and effective for remote island regions.
Website: https://tatavaka.hr/
GelAvista – citizen science at the service of the marine ecosystems
Country: Portugal
Lead organisation: CIIMAR | Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Short Description:
Jellyfish strandings are increasing worldwide, although the reasons behind these occurrences are still under discussion. Events of rapid reproduction (blooms), common in these species, may have important economic and social consequences, either through direct contact with beachgoers, beach closures, and disturbances in aquaculture facilities. GelAvista (gelavista.ipma.pt) is a citizen science project that provides scientific data on jellyfish ecology and advice on how to mitigate climate change effects. Launched in 2016, the project engagees volunteers in monitoring jellyfish diversity, distribution, abundance, and seasonality in mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira archipelagos. With over 3,000 volunteers and 19,500 records, GelAvista uses a mobile app, website, social media platforms, YouTube and various science communication activities to facilitate accessibility and engagement. Volunteers report sightings with key details, including date, location, and photographs. Submissions are validated and attribute a confidence level to each record to ensure reliable data for scientific research. Additionally, the project’s data informs evidence-based decision-making, supporting the development of effective conservation and management strategies. GelAvista fosters ocean literacy and environmental stewardship. By involving citizens in scientific research, the project empowers communities to take action to protect marine ecosystems.
Objectives & Goals:
Τhe project engagees volunteers in monitoring jellyfish diversity, distribution, abundance, and seasonality in mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira archipelagos.
Website: https://www.ciimar.up.pt/
LC3 – Lemesos City Cooling Challenge
Country: Cyprus
Lead organisation: The Cyprus Institute
Short Description:
The LC3 project tests the systemic combination of 3 innovative pathways to accelerated decarbonization in a living lab environment:1. Overcoming attitudes & behaviors of apathy, helplessness, and myopic self-interest through broad stakeholder participation in co-design/creation solution workshops extending deeply in the pilot activities governance so that the learning/reflexive cycle cuts through Project, Mission, City, and local Society. 2.Simple, collective, innovative interventions to reduce building energy consumption, mainly for cooling where research shows the regional growing need is expected; the interventions go beyond “building insulation envelope”, are non-intrusive, easily scalable, and form a diverse showcase. 3.Solar energy production and natural carbon sinks in small and very small open spaces (parking spaces, rooftops, pedestrian streets, squares, bus stops) with the dual objective of improving the microclimate and showcasing small local networks of RE production.
Objectives & Goals:
LC3 leverages citizen science to co-create climate adaptation solutions for urban cooling in Lemesos, Cyprus. By engaging stakeholders in participatory workshops, the project fosters community-driven solutions that reduce energy consumption, enhance microclimates, and promote renewable energy use in small urban spaces. Through co-design methods, LC3 empowers citizens as change agents, integrating scientific research with local insights. This scalable approach ensures policy impact, social engagement, and sustainable urban adaptation, making it a replicable model for cities across Europe facing similar climate challenges.
Website: https://lc3-nzlimassol2030.eu/
The Future is Climate
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Demos Lab
Short Description:
The Climate emergency is a paramount concern for young people in Spain, but are we engaging them in adaptation actions, do they participate in climate action solutions? 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. FIC is a citizen science and representative deliberative process formed by two deliberative bodies working together: the Climate Metaforum (40 randomly selected young people from all over Spain) and the Climate Advisory Council (20 climate scientists and experts). The aim is to foster sustained engagement from young people on climate action by creating participation mechanisms and to close the gap between scientists and young people by establishing ongoing dialogues.
Our initiative tackles two relevant fields for climate change adaptation:
(1) environmental education, as young people receive training from leading experts, collect their own data on climate action obstacles in their territories to support deliberations and consensus-building and become ambassadors,
(2) environmental governance, as the project includes an ongoing advocacy phase to push for policy changes and establish permanent institutionalized deliberative bodies. Climate change adaptation requires strong citizen engagement and participation, and we will make it happen.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.demoslab.com/
Rewilding food: Citizen Science to Increase the Climate Resilience of Agroecosystems and Diet
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Iniciativas Socioambientales G S. Coop. Mad
Short Description:
Rewilding food aims to increase the climate resilience of agroecosystems, by introducing wild vegetables as new crops and novel foods. Wild vegetables consumed traditionally were formerly present in agroecosystems as weeds, and were gathered to assure food supply in scarcity periods. Restoring their presence in agroecosystems and exploring their potential as new crops are ways of adapting to climate change, since they might play a role as complementary resources resistant to extreme climate events. Moreover, reintroducing these vegetables in modern diets contributes to ensure food security and foster climate-resilient diets. The participatory research aims to improve the knowledge about the management and use of these plants in the current context, focusing on their agronomic characterization, sensory evaluation, food preparation techniques and consumer preferences, while also raising public awareness to promote their production and consumption. The participative research started in 2024 involving representatives of the main stakeholders in the food value chain: producers, processors and consumers. The citizen scientists involved are professional farmers and cookers, students of professional training home gardeners and consumers. The experiments consist of agronomic field trials, culinary research and sensory tastings, yielding results about the productivity, management and preparation techniques and consumer acceptance of 7 wild edible plants.
Objectives & Goals:
By engaging local communities in data collection, the project empowers citizens to influence decision-making and create tailored climate adaptation strategies. The project enhances resilience through bottom-up knowledge-sharing, ensuring sustainable development and better resource allocation. By integrating scientific research with local expertise, it fosters community-driven solutions that can be replicated across European islands, contributing to more inclusive and effective EU climate policies while strengthening islanders’ role in sustainability efforts.
Website: https://germinando.es/
EU-SHORE – Best Practices for Sustainable Habitat and Ocean Recovery Education in Europe
Country: Estonia
Lead organisation: Global Skills Network OÜ (GSN) takes responsibility for the project on behalf of the applicant consortium it has formed with the Baltic Living Lab MTÜ (BLL)
Short Description:
EU-SHORE is a citizen-science and community-engagement initiative that builds on a Horizon project in progress (H-SHORE, https://shoreproject.eu) that supports the EU Mission Ocean objectives for both marine and freshwater ecosystems, promotes restorative biodiversity and Twin.Transition adaptation while expanding the European Blue School Network. EU-SHORE creates a network of living labs modeled on H-SHORE’s country hubs , making resources available to communities currently outside H-SHORE’s 5-region focus. Designed to combat “Hydrological Blindness”—the lack of awareness about Earth’s water systems’ critical role in regulating climate and mitigating human impacts—EU-SHORE’s open-schooling methodologies engage schools with the quadruple helix of their communities that fosters co creation of projects aligned with thematic blue literacy teaching routes, including climate change, biodiversity, sustainable resource use, the Blue Economy, and hazardous substances. EU-SHORE facilitates cross-border collaboration and citizen science engagement by sharing data and promoting best practices that address climate challenges. By leveraging EU funding from similar initiatives to support capacity building, teacher training, citizen science, and mobility, EU-SHORE fosters synergies for educational influence, informed policymaking, and long-term pan-European collaboration. Its knowledge-sharing ecosystem ensures scalable impact and sustainable solutions for diverse climate action contexts.
Objectives & Goals:
EU-SHORE leverages citizen science to combat “hydrological blindness” and enhance climate resilience through community-driven education and research. The project integrates blue literacy, sustainability, and restorative biodiversity by engaging schools, policymakers, and industries in co-creating solutions for marine and freshwater conservation. By fostering open-schooling methodologies and data-sharing networks, EU-SHORE empowers citizens to participate in climate action, promoting evidence-based policymaking. Through digital tools, hackathons, and citizen-led monitoring, the project strengthens ocean awareness, expands the European Blue School Network, and ensures scalable impact across diverse ecosystems, shaping a more sustainable and climate-adaptive Europe.
Website: https://bluebalticecosystem.com/
EduMove – Boosting bike use in Tirana, Albania
Country: Albania
Lead organisation: Active Mobility Albania
Short Description:
The EduMove project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program, aims to promote cycling among youngsters in suburban Tirana, focusing on the Kamëz area. This initiative seeks to enhance sustainable mobility by integrating cycling into the daily routines of students from five secondary schools. Through comprehensive surveys, cycling training, and infrastructure improvement, the project has increased bicycle usage and cycling safety awareness. Key activities include the distribution of bicycles, setup of bike lanes, and educational workshops on bike maintenance and road safety. Despite challenges such as infrastructure limitations and social hesitance towards cycling, the project has made significant achievement towards fostering a culture of cycling among youth, with plans to expand these efforts to influence broader educational and environmental policies. The project’s success is highlighted by its positive reception and the active participation of students, educators, and local government, aiming for a lasting impact on the community’s mobility habits.
Objectives & Goals:
The EduMove project focuses on promoting sustainable mobility among school-aged children in the Kamëz area of Tirana. By integrating cycling into their daily routines, the project aims to foster a positive attitude towards environmentally friendly transport methods.
Website: https://accting.eu/selected-pilot-projects/edu-move-boosting-bike-use-in-suburban-tirana-albania/
Melanogaster Catch the Fly! The citizen science network in adaptation genomics
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: La Ciència Al Teu Món
Short Description:
The first citizen science network on adaptation genomics “Melanogaster Catch the Fly!” (MCTF) addresses the global challenge of climate change by fostering grassroots participation in scientific research. MCTF engages rural citizens, including students, teachers, farmers, and policymakers, empowering them to monitor environmental variables and track Drosophila populations. This generates valuable data on biodiversity’s response to climate variability, advancing understanding of adaptation and resilience. Hands-on activities like species sampling, environmental monitoring, and molecular data analysis, improves scientific literacy, raises climate awareness, and bridges gaps between science and society, enhancing education on climate adaptation by providing accessible tools and training. MCTF promotes collaboration among citizens, academia, industry, and policymakers, increasing engagement and trust in science. Citizen co-authorship in publications, policy input, and participation in international conferences build institutional capacity and ensure coordinated climate action. MCTF highlights women in STEM leadership roles and fostering opportunities for young girls to explore science careers, while closing technology gaps and language barriers to ensure diversity in leadership and participation. MCTF expansion across Europe, seeks to amplify its impact in biodiversity conservation, education, and agriculture, aligning local solutions with broader climate resilience strategies.
Objectives & Goals:
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. Participants collect and classify fruit flies in natural habitats, supporting research on adaptation to environmental changes, key to addressing climate challenges like biodiversity loss, extreme weather, and food insecurity.
Website: https://melanogaster.eu/
MINDS: Measuring Impact of Norms in climate Disaster Scenarios
Country: Italy
Lead organisation: Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Mathematics and Physics Department
Short Description:
The project implement a different approach than using the measurement devices and sensors: one where the human mind serves as the primary measurement instrument. This methodology employs structured social games to convert human behavior into quantifiable data regarding community responses to climate risks, focusing on flooding events. The Collective Risk Social Dilemma game engages groups of six community members, each receiving €100 to manage flood prevention. The group must collectively contribute enough to reach a safety threshold or lose everything, creating stakes that mirror actual community decisions about flood prevention investments. The climate scenarios are based on flooding events in Emilia Romagna (May 2023 and 2024), ensuring participants engage with relevant situations. The scenarios incorporate variations, including future climate threats such as heat waves, to understand how communities adapt their decision-making. This behavioral citizen science approach provides unique insights into social norm development during climate crises. By observing how communities make collective decisions under risk, we generate valuable data about social adaptation – data that traditional monitoring alone cannot capture. The project combines climate science expertise with social behavior research to create a framework for understanding community resilience.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.uniroma3.it/
URBAN500 Walkability Platform
Country: Serbia
Lead organisation: Placemaking Western Balkans
Short Description:
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. Urban500 is an initiative that evaluates walkability within a 500-step radius in an exemplary central neighborhood (approximately 300 meters, representing a typical 15-minutes urban neighborhood). So far the initiative has taken place in Belgrade, capital of Serbia, and plans to expand to other two cities in the WB region, Skopje and Sarajevo. After its prototyping phase in 2024 which was supported by the IMPETUS4CS programme, the project seeks to expand to become a regional platform, where CS-driven databases on the walkability can be stored and exchanged. In this way, we aim to create a better understanding, partnerships development and application of CS-driven research, to face the demands for more sustainable mobility practices helping cities in the SEE region to adapt to climate change. The Urban500 Platform will serve to actively involve citizens in advancing the science behind designing walkable neighborhoods, and secondly, to provide a place where region-wide collaboratively generated data will be made openly available, capturing and visualising diverse user perceptions of streets, squares and parks in everyday life.
Objectives & Goals:
The Urban500 project has produced a web application using open-source StreetMap to facilitate co-design and data collection on walkability within 500 steps. The platform generates data sets (compatible with GIS) that assess the quality of pedestrian spaces and highlight areas for improvement. The assessment is based on the previously developed Scoreline method at the Faculty of Forestry in Belgrade.
Website: https://www.placemakingweb.org
CoRe-ACTS – Coastal Resilience: Action Through Citizen Science
Country: Ireland
Lead organisation: University College Dublin
Short Description:
This project aims to expand and enhance the citizen science activities initiated in 2023. The scope of the ongoing CoRe-ACTS project is to turn a technology used by scientists for the study of coastal morphodynamics into a citizen science initiative. The Smart Pebble technology offers a low-cost, scalable solution for assessing sediment transport, erosion patterns, and morphological changes in sediments. Its combination with a citizen science approach has the potential to empower local communities to conduct most of the activities independently, allowing them to actively participate in monitoring coastal dynamics by tracking pebble movement across the beach. Following the successful implementation of the Smart Pebbles project in Killiney, Dublin, involving local groups and schools, this project aims to empower communities to independently conduct their own citizen science initiatives. We will provide all necessary instrumentation and training, integrating these activities into their existing annual plans for village maintenance. The implementation of such an operational protocol would allow the continuous acquisition of data related to pebbles displacement and their morphological changes, providing the scientific team data with a temporal density never reached before within the scientific community. Based on the successful outcomes of this initial Irish project, we aim to develop a replicable citizen science model that can be adapted for implementation on other European beaches.
Objectives & Goals:
The CoRe-ACTS 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. Prior to deployment, each Smart Pebble is 3D scanned and then precisely geolocated using an RTK-GPS. Citizen scientists periodically locate and recover the Smart Pebbles using the reader, re-acquiring their position and 3D model.
Website: https://score-eu-project.eu/2023/10/06/raising-students-awareness-with-the-smart-pebbles-workshop/
MountainsAlive
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Fundacio Centre de Regulacio Genomica
Short Description:
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. Pyrenean high mountain lakes harbor unique ecosystems shaped by the vital role of microorganisms. Due to their geographical isolation and Mediterranean climate, they are highly vulnerable ecosystems that face different threats from rising temperatures—occurring at rates faster than the global average—declining precipitation and increasing pressure from human activities. Characterizing and monitoring the biodiversity hosted in these lakes is key to protecting these ecosystems from the detrimental impacts of climate change and creating strategies to adapt to the current and future climate. The MountainsAlive initiative will bring together different stakeholders – civil society associations, local entrepreneurs, regional and national policymakers, administrative entities, and researchers – to raise awareness on the crucial work needed to slow down the ecological impact of human-based activities, including ecosystem destabilization, potential water quality deterioration, nutrient cycling disruption and reduced pollutant removal. With the support of ScienceUs, we aim to engage all segments of society to drive meaningful and lasting change by promoting socioeconomic policies that safeguard the environment and ecosystems of high-altitude lakes, by for example, encouraging sustainable, low-impact tourism.
Objectives & Goals:
The MountainsAlive proposal builds on the ongoing activities of PyriSentinel, a European-funded project uniting scientists from Spain, France, and Andorra to monitor biodiversity in the high-altitude lakes of the Pyrenees. Its scientific objective is to map microbial diversity, a crucial indicator of ecosystem health and a sentinel for detecting the impacts of climate change.
Website: https://www.crg.eu/
Observadores del Mar
Country: Spain
Lead organisation:
Institut de Ciències del Mar – CSIC
Short Description: Observadores del Mar is Spain’s leading marine citizen science platform, with over 12 years of experience engaging the public in marine conservation. Supporting 15 active projects and collaborating with 500+ entities, it has involved more than 5,000 participants in collecting reliable data for conservation and climate adaptation strategies. In 2024, the platform launched an initiative addressing four key climate change indicators: coral mortality caused by marine heatwaves, jellyfish blooms and distribution shifts, the expansion of thermophilic fish species, and the flowering patterns of Posidonia oceanica. Using a “train the trainers” model, 33 diving centers and 444 divers conducted over 400 surveys across Mediterranean ecosystems, generating valuable insights. Observadores del Mar’s custom-designed platform facilitates efficient data collection, validation, and visualization, enabling seamless collaboration between scientists and citizens. By aligning with EU Missions and Horizon Europe objectives, the platform provides harmonized, citizen-driven data to address shared challenges like biodiversity loss and habitat degradation. Its scalable and replicable model strengthens resilience and offers a robust solution for climate adaptation across European seas.
Objectives & Goals:
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. Observadores del Mar is building a robust network of observatories to track these effects with the support of volunteers and experts.
Website: https://www.icm.csic.es/
Citizen SeaWatch
Country: Israel
Lead organisation: Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI)
Short Description:
The SeaWatch app is already active in Israel for eight years, expanding its impact through partnerships with researchers and environmental authorities. 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. The project uses a bilingual mobile app that enables users to report illegal fishing, protected species trade, and activities in marine protected areas while also documenting wildlife observations. This data is shared with researchers and decision-makers to also support climate change adaptation strategies as well as providing real time and immediate solutions for received reports. SeaWatch was partly developed within the H2020 ODYSSEA project, which created a cost-effective platform to integrate observation and forecasting systems across the Mediterranean, including mobile apps for citizen science networks. SeaWatch was one of these apps. Development continues under the H2020 project EcoScope, which promotes ecosystem-based fisheries management, balancing ecological, economic, and social trade-offs. EcoScope also offers policymakers tools like interactive mapping layers. Recently, SeaWatch expanded to the Thracian Sea, with plans to adapt it for additional European seas under EcoScope’s workplan.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.teva.org.il/
SCI-FI Europe: Expanding Science for Inclusion Across Borders
Country: Italy
Lead organisation: Primo Principio
Short Description:
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. The project will involve vulnerable groups—such as individuals with mental health challenges, disabilities, and migrants—as active contributors to data collection and sustainable agricultural practices. Targeting rural areas in Europe, it aims to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, bridge the digital divide, and foster trust in innovative technologies. Through workshops, field activities, and co-designed solutions, SCI-FI Europe will promote cooperation between farmers, scientists, and citizens to build resilient agricultural systems. This initiative builds upon the SCI-FI pilot project –supported by the IMPETUS project– in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, which successfully demonstrated how marginalized groups could be empowered to lead scientific efforts in sustainable farming. By expanding the pilot’s methodology and tools, SCI-FI Europe will scale its impact, creating a replicable model for fostering environmental preservation and social inclusion across European regions.
Objectives & Goals:
Targeting rural areas in Europe, it aims to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, bridge the digital divide, and foster trust in innovative technologies.
Website: https://www.primoprincipio.it/
Night owl 2.0
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Associació Taxus
Short Description:
The general public may view owls as mysterious and mystical creatures due to their nighttime activity and the numerous legends surrounding them and their hooting. In certain areas, there is a lack of information about these animals, which is why this citizen science project is aimed at boosting the amount of information available about owls. In order to increase the amount of information about owls, it’s important to have a large number of people involved in this survey to study as many areas as possible. To accomplish this, the project will generate online learning materials that will be accessible to anyone interested etc.) in the project. The learning materials will be available on our association’s website. This educational material will equip our volunteers to participate in a yearly high-scale owl survey through a citizen science project. All this information will allow us to generate a large owl database that will increase the owl information around the study areas. Our association will be responsible that will increase the owl information around the study areas. Our association will be responsible for creating and organizing this database. Furthermore, this project will provide our volunteers with the opportunity to learn about the local owls and increase awareness about their local biodiversity and its threats. After the survey is complete, all the information will be publicly shared on our association’s website.
Objectives & Goals:
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
Country: Italy
Lead organisation: Club Alpino Italiano (CAI)
Short Description:
Groundwater vital for the welfare and resilience of both ecosystems and communities. Climate change, overexploitation, and pollution may threaten groundwater availability. Springs are the main manifestations of groundwater resources in mountainous territories. They can provide up to 75 % of total tap water. Not only sources of this vital resource, natural springs themselves can be sites of high biodiversity. It is then crucial to study, and protect springs and groundwater resources. To address these needs, the Italian Alpine Club launched the Acqua Sorgente national Citizen Science Project in April 2024.
The main objectives of the project are:
i) Implement and maintain a national database of spring monitoring data and analyze the data for hydrological research and water protection.
ii) Raise awareness about water resources and disseminate the scientific results.
Volunteers already started collecting spring data which include location, photos, water presence, flow rates, temperature, and electrical conductivity. The data are recorded on the smartphone application and with the portable probes distributed by the Alpine Club. All collected data are uploaded to the Open-Source database validated, and displayed on the interactive map. In 2024, the database reached over 800 validated entries. The data have been used to push hydrological research. Outreach efforts included public events, three high school projects and official collaborations with universities and research institutions.
Objectives & Goals:
The main objectives of the project are:
- i) Implement and maintain a national database of spring monitoring data and analyze the data for hydrological research and water protection.
- ii) Raise awareness about water resources and disseminate the scientific results.
Website: https://www.cai.it/
Alleviating Energy Poverty in Vulnerable households
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Spanish Red Cross
Short Description:
This project addresses energy poverty as a key barrier to climate adaptation in vulnerable communities. Building on existing education and awareness programs, it leverages citizen science methodologies to empower households to monitor, understand, and optimize their energy consumption. Through a participatory approach, citizens gather data on energy usage and housing conditions using tools such as energy surveys, thermal sensors, and on-site visits. This data generates actionable indicators to identify challenges, inform targeted interventions, and promote energy-efficient solutions that mitigate climate risks like heatwaves and cold spells. Implemented activities include home retrofitting and the adoption of soft energy efficiency measures. In collaboration with volunteers, local communities, and authorities, the project aims to: Raise awareness of energy efficiency. Facilitate citizen-led data collection to assess energy poverty and its impacts. Propose affordable and scalable solutions. Decrease emissions and enhance climate resilience The outcomes will contribute to the EU mission “Adaptation to Climate Change” by advancing inclusive strategies that improve living conditions while addressing environmental challenges. By combining citizen science with practical solutions, the project establishes a foundation for broader European initiatives, demonstrating how community-driven efforts can tackle societal and climate-related issues.
Objectives & Goals:
In collaboration with volunteers, local communities, and authorities, the project aims to:
- Raise awareness of energy efficiency.
- Facilitate citizen-led data collection to assess energy poverty and its impacts.
- Propose affordable and scalable solutions.
- Decrease emissions and enhance climate resilience.
Learning from Seahorses with a Biomimicry Perspective
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Hippocampus Association
Short Description:
The proposed project expands the audience of Hippocampus Association Citizen Science activities around marine biodiversity conservation. It will invite five pilot schools in Murcia (2o ESO students, 13/14 years old) and five tourism or local community organizations to participate in outdoor education at the Mar Menor lagoon (Murcia, Spain). With a focus on the seahorse fish, participants will explore the world of marine ecology by combining Citizen Science and Biomimicry (innovation inspired by nature) to enhance knowledge of biodiversity and climate change, as well, participate in a long-term marine monitoring project. Through activities such as taking a visual census of seahorse habitats, spotting invasive species, and uploading data to the Sea Observes platform, participants will explore the Mar Menor ecosystem, its resilience, and the seahorse monitoring program’s significance. Inspired by marine organisms, participants will design biomimetic communications to address environmental challenges and develop a sense of green active citizenship. These communications will be promoted via multiple channels of social media and outreach. Bridging professional scientists, civil organizations, youth education, and the private sector, the project combines outdoor learning, biomimicry, and citizen science to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change, creating a scalable, replicable model for regions worldwide. Using professional videography will expand the reach of project results
Objectives & Goals:
The project aims to support the seahorses in Spain’s National Catalogue of Endangered Species, contributing to national conservation policies. On a larger scale, the initiative serves as a model for policy development aimed at protecting marine species and habitats, with the potential for global replication. region of Romania (Arieș River in the North-West).
Website: https://asociacionhippocampus.com/
Drop of Air
Country: Romania
Lead organisation: IOT4NATURE
Short Description:
Drop of Air (www.stropdeaer.ro) is a citizen science initiative focused on empowering local communities to monitor and improve air quality through the use of simple, accessible technologies. The project encourages individuals to participate in data collection related to air pollution, particularly focusing on fine particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10) and humidity, temperature and pressure of air. By equipping citizens with low-cost sensors and providing a platform for sharing their findings, “Drop of Air” creates a collaborative space where people become active contributors to environmental science. 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. The collected data is not only accessible to participants but is also used to inform local governments, policymakers, and environmental organizations.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.iot4nature.ro
EcoVoce – Scaling Up Citizen Science for Environmental Impact
Country: Romania
Lead organisation: Universitatea Babes-Bolyai
Short Description:
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. Through school activities, workshops, clean-up campaigns, and bio-blitzes, EcoVoce engaged citizens to monitor and report environmental issues. The EcoVoce app supports mapping and communicating findings to authorities and stakeholders. Aligned with New ERA goals, EcoVoce fosters collaboration among scientists, students, and citizens, promoting inclusivity and knowledge sharing. The project supports EU Missions, including Adaptation to Climate Change and Restore our Ocean and Waters, by enhancing community resilience, promoting biodiversity protection, and advancing sustainable solutions. It also aligns with A Soil Deal for Europe by addressing soil health through participatory approaches. EcoVoce seeks to scale its model across Northwestern Transylvania, leveraging the region’s biodiversity and cultural heritage to fill monitoring gaps. By expanding collaborations with universities, schools, NGOs, and stakeholders, EcoVoce promotes validated data collection and actionable insights for conservation. This community-driven, replicable initiative demonstrates the power of citizen science to advance environmental sustainability regionally and nationally.
Objectives & Goals:
EcoVoce is a citizen science project aimed at monitoring environmental problems in one particular region of Romania (Arieș River in the North-West). The existing activities include raising awareness of air and water pollution, degradation of biodiversity, and health risks induced by burning plastic, microplastic pollution and some dangerous materials such as asbestos.
Website: https://www.ubbcluj.ro
Mapping cyanobacterial toxic potential in European freshwaters together with citizens
Country: Slovenia
Lead organisation: National Institute of Biology (NIB)
Short Description:
Freshwater ecosystems, though limited in extent, are vital for humanity. Despite EU initiatives like the WFD (2000/60/EC), Natura 2000, EU Green Deal, 75% of European freshwaters have been heavily altered by human activities (IPBES, 2019). In Slovenia, freshwater habitats are among the most endangered, with eutrophication identified as the primary issue for lakes and reservoirs. Only 4 out of 11 studied waters achieved a good trophic state (ARSO, 2016–2019), underscoring the shortcomings of current water management practices. Cyanobacterial blooms, worsened by climate change, are a symptom of unsustainable water management. Cyanobacterial toxins pose a risk to human health and dense blooms harm ecosystems, degrade water quality, and pose risks to drinking water, fishing and recreation, causing economic losses exceeding billions annually in OECD countries (OECD, 2017). In 2022, we launched national cyano-platform “www.ciano.si” to engage citizens in reporting cyanobacterial blooms in Slovenia. Cyanobacteria’s toxic potential linked to climate change remains understudied due to limited long-term and spatial monitoring. This project aims to map cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwaters by involving citizens as key contributors. It will first enhance the Slovenian cyano-platform using a quadruple helix model to address climate adaptation, then replicate and upscale our case study across Europe, connecting national efforts to the www.cyano.eu platform (as a final vision).
Objectives & Goals:
This project aims to map cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwaters by involving citizens as key contributors. It will first enhance the Slovenian cyano-platform using a quadruple helix model to address climate adaptation, then replicate and upscale our case study across Europe, connecting national efforts to the www.cyano.eu platform (as a final vision).
Website: https://www.nib.si/eng/
¡Por otra Alimentación, Jóvenes en Acción!
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Sustainable Living Foundation
Short Description:
¡Por otra Alimentación, Jóvenes en Acción (https://www.platoypaisaje.org/por-otra-alimentacion-jovenes-en-accion/) engages and empowers young people to advocate for sustainable, resilient, and territorialized food systems as a way to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) process, various groups of volunteers explore agroecological production, distribution, and consumption in their regions and carry out environmental education initiatives. 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. The project emphasizes the need to build alliances between science, producers (farmers and food processors), and consumers, while co-creating initiatives with young people in favor of a sustainable food system. This initiative is part of the program En Madrid, Cada Plato es un paisaje (https://www.platoypaisaje.org/proyecto/).
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.vidasostenible.org/
Science Photo POSTs
Country: Portugal
Lead organisation: Centro Ciência Viva do Algarve
Short Description:
Initiated in 2016, 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. Inspired by the Irish Glendalough Photo Post concept, the project capitalizes on the following regional features: – The Algarve coast is frequented by thousands of visitors who walk along the shoreline daily, often photographing the landscape.- Effective coastal management requires consistent and systematic observation. – The spatial and temporal variability of the coastal environment remains insufficiently understood and requires further exploration. Developed by the CentroCiência Viva do Algarve (Interactive Science Center in Faro), the project was awarded initial seed funding in 2015 by the National Agency for Scientific Culture – Ciência Viva. The photographic database generated was intended to support researchers at the CIMA Research Centre (University of Algarve), municipal technicians, and the Portuguese Environment Agency in coastal management initiatives and to raise public awareness of climate change impacts through educational efforts at the science center. Since 2016, citizens have contributed images from several beaches where the photo posts were installed. However, limitations in website tools and a shortage of human resources have hindered the effective utilization and analysis of the collected data.
Objectives & Goals:
To promote participatory science in the field of coastal management by engaging citizens in capturing photographic data on coastline conditions and changes over time.
Website: https://www.sciencepost.pt/
Blue-Green Tops: Adapting Building Roofs for Climate Resilience
Country: Greece
Lead organisation: University of Patras
Short Description:
Urban rooftops hold great potential for climate adaptation. Commonly made of high heat-capacity materials, they contribute to urban heat islands. Transforming them into blue-green roofs can cool cities, manage rainwater, enhance biodiversity, and improve living conditions. However, suitability depends on factors such as roof structure, age, and exposure to sun and wind. 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. Athens, a city of severe heat threats, acts as the starting point. With 90% of its buildings featuring flat roofs, it offers prime opportunity for climate adaptation.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.upatras.gr/en/
Citizen Science for Resilient and Adaptable Islands
Country: Croatia
Lead organisation: Association Tatavaka
Short Description:
Quality data collection and analysis are crucial for creating efficient climate change adaptation policies. However, existing EU, national and local climate policies are mostly designed with urban settings in mind. This means that development indicators measuring the effectiveness of these policies often fail to capture the specifics of remote, rural and less populated areas such as small European islands. Pronounced vulnerability to consequences of climate change, isolation and already low accessibility to services, particular social dynamics and lacking human resources, infrastructure deficiencies and fragile island economies are left invisible, exacerbating the risk of inadequate adaptation of island populations to the changing climate. Our project addresses the gap between policies and island realities using citizen science. According to Abo Akademi University, “being habitable [is] the prerequisite for a sustainable society that can take care of its inhabitants, its nature and the surrounding sea” Habitability is a novel, citizen science-based approach that brings real, localised meaning to concepts such as sustainability and adaptation by relying on the power of local knowledge and love of islanders for their islands. We propose mobilising citizen science in order to collect specific, relevant data that tells the whole story of what resilience and adaptation mean on European islands. It is the story that EU policy makers, academia, businesses and citizens need to hear.
Objectives & Goals:
This project aims to bridge the gap between climate adaptation policies and the realities of small European islands through citizen science. By mobilizing local communities, it seeks to collect high-quality, context-specific data that reflect the true challenges of island sustainability. The project empowers islanders to actively contribute to climate policies, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making processes. Through a bottom-up approach, it fosters resilience, adaptation, and sustainable development by integrating local knowledge with scientific research. Ultimately, it aspires to influence EU climate strategies, making them more inclusive and effective for remote island regions.
Website: https://tatavaka.hr/
GelAvista – citizen science at the service of the marine ecosystems
Country: Portugal
Lead organisation: CIIMAR | Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Short Description:
Jellyfish strandings are increasing worldwide, although the reasons behind these occurrences are still under discussion. Events of rapid reproduction (blooms), common in these species, may have important economic and social consequences, either through direct contact with beachgoers, beach closures, and disturbances in aquaculture facilities. GelAvista (gelavista.ipma.pt) is a citizen science project that provides scientific data on jellyfish ecology and advice on how to mitigate climate change effects. Launched in 2016, the project engagees volunteers in monitoring jellyfish diversity, distribution, abundance, and seasonality in mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira archipelagos. With over 3,000 volunteers and 19,500 records, GelAvista uses a mobile app, website, social media platforms, YouTube and various science communication activities to facilitate accessibility and engagement. Volunteers report sightings with key details, including date, location, and photographs. Submissions are validated and attribute a confidence level to each record to ensure reliable data for scientific research. Additionally, the project’s data informs evidence-based decision-making, supporting the development of effective conservation and management strategies. GelAvista fosters ocean literacy and environmental stewardship. By involving citizens in scientific research, the project empowers communities to take action to protect marine ecosystems.
Objectives & Goals:
Τhe project engagees volunteers in monitoring jellyfish diversity, distribution, abundance, and seasonality in mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira archipelagos.
Website: https://www.ciimar.up.pt/
LC3 – Lemesos City Cooling Challenge
Country: Cyprus
Lead organisation: The Cyprus Institute
Short Description:
The LC3 project tests the systemic combination of 3 innovative pathways to accelerated decarbonization in a living lab environment:1. Overcoming attitudes & behaviors of apathy, helplessness, and myopic self-interest through broad stakeholder participation in co-design/creation solution workshops extending deeply in the pilot activities governance so that the learning/reflexive cycle cuts through Project,Mission, City, and local Society. 2.Simple, collective, innovative interventions to reduce building energy consumption, mainly for cooling where research shows the regional growing need is expected; the interventions go beyond “building insulation envelope”, are non-intrusive, easily scalable, and form a diverse showcase. 3.Solar energy production and natural carbon sinks in small and very small open spaces (parking spaces, rooftops, pedestrian streets, squares, bus stops) with the dual objective of improving the microclimate and showcasing small local networks of RE production.
Objectives & Goals:
LC3 leverages citizen science to co-create climate adaptation solutions for urban cooling in Lemesos, Cyprus. By engaging stakeholders in participatory workshops, the project fosters community-driven solutions that reduce energy consumption, enhance microclimates, and promote renewable energy use in small urban spaces. Through co-design methods, LC3 empowers citizens as change agents, integrating scientific research with local insights. This scalable approach ensures policy impact, social engagement, and sustainable urban adaptation, making it a replicable model for cities across Europe facing similar climate challenges.
Website: https://lc3-nzlimassol2030.eu/en/
The Future is Climate
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Demos Lab
Short Description:
The Climate emergency is a paramount concern for young people in Spain, but are we engaging them in adaptation actions, do they participate in climate action solutions? 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. FIC is a citizen science and representative deliberative process formed by two deliberative bodies working together: the Climate Metaforum (40 randomly selected young people from all over Spain) and the Climate Advisory Council (20 climate scientists and experts). The aim is to foster sustained engagement from young people on climate action by creating participation mechanisms and to close the gap between scientists and young people by establishing ongoing dialogues.
Our initiative tackles two relevant fields for climate change adaptation:
(1) environmental education, as young people receive training from leading experts, collect their own data on climate action obstacles in their territories to support deliberations and consensus-building and become ambassadors,
(2) environmental governance, as the project includes an ongoing advocacy phase to push for policy changes and establish permanent institutionalized deliberative bodies. Climate change adaptation requires strong citizen engagement and participation, and we will make it happen.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.demoslab.com/
Rewilding food: Citizen Science to Increase the Climate Resilience of Agroecosystems and Diet
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Iniciativas Socioambientales G S. Coop. Mad
Short Description:
Rewilding food aims to increase the climate resilience of agroecosystems, by introducing wild vegetables as new crops and novel foods. Wild vegetables consumed traditionally were formerly present in agroecosystems as weeds, and were gathered to assure food supply in scarcity periods. Restoring their presence in agroecosystems and exploring their potential as new crops are ways of adapting to climate change, since they might play a role as complementary resources resistant to extreme climate events. Moreover, reintroducing these vegetables in modern diets contributes to ensure food security and foster climate-resilient diets. The participatory research aims to improve the knowledge about the management and use of these plants in the current context, focusing on their agronomic characterization, sensory evaluation, food preparation techniques and consumer preferences, while also raising public awareness to promote their production and consumption. The participative research started in 2024 involving representatives of the main stakeholders in the food value chain: producers, processors and consumers. The citizen scientists involved are professional farmers and cookers, students of professional training home gardeners and consumers. The experiments consist of agronomic field trials, culinary research and sensory tastings, yielding results about the productivity, management and preparation techniques and consumer acceptance of 7 wild edible plants.
Objectives & Goals:
By engaging local communities in data collection, the project empowers citizens to influence decision-making and create tailored climate adaptation strategies. The project enhances resilience through bottom-up knowledge-sharing, ensuring sustainable development and better resource allocation. By integrating scientific research with local expertise, it fosters community-driven solutions that can be replicated across European islands, contributing to more inclusive and effective EU climate policies while strengthening islanders’ role in sustainability efforts.
Website: https://germinando.es/
EU-SHORE – Best Practices for Sustainable Habitat and Ocean Recovery Education in Europe
Country: Estonia
Lead organisation: Global Skills Network OÜ (GSN) takes responsibility for the project on behalf of the applicant consortium it has formed with the Baltic Living Lab MTÜ (BLL)
Short Description:
EU-SHORE is a citizen-science and community-engagement initiative that builds on a Horizon project in progress (H-SHORE, https://shoreproject.eu) that supports the EU Mission Ocean objectives for both marine and freshwater ecosystems, promotes restorative biodiversity and Twin.Transition adaptation while expanding the European Blue School Network. EU-SHORE creates a network of living labs modeled on H-SHORE’s country hubs , making resources available to communities currently outside H-SHORE’s 5-region focus. Designed to combat “Hydrological Blindness”—the lack of awareness about Earth’s water systems’ critical role in regulating climate and mitigating human impacts—EU-SHORE’s open-schooling methodologies engage schools with the quadruple helix of their communities that fosters co creation of projects aligned with thematic blue literacy teaching routes, including climate change, biodiversity, sustainable resource use, the Blue Economy, and hazardous substances. EU-SHORE facilitates cross-border collaboration and citizen science engagement by sharing data and promoting best practices that address climate challenges. By leveraging EU funding from similar initiatives to support capacity building, teacher training, citizen science, and mobility, EU-SHORE fosters synergies for educational influence, informed policymaking, and long-term pan-European collaboration. Its knowledge-sharing ecosystem ensures scalable impact and sustainable solutions for diverse climate action contexts.
Objectives & Goals:
EU-SHORE leverages citizen science to combat “hydrological blindness” and enhance climate resilience through community-driven education and research. The project integrates blue literacy, sustainability, and restorative biodiversity by engaging schools, policymakers, and industries in co-creating solutions for marine and freshwater conservation. By fostering open-schooling methodologies and data-sharing networks, EU-SHORE empowers citizens to participate in climate action, promoting evidence-based policymaking. Through digital tools, hackathons, and citizen-led monitoring, the project strengthens ocean awareness, expands the European Blue School Network, and ensures scalable impact across diverse ecosystems, shaping a more sustainable and climate-adaptive Europe.
Website: https://bluebalticecosystem.com/
EduMove – Boosting bike use in Tirana, Albania
Country: Albania
Lead organisation: Active Mobility Albania
Short Description:
The EduMove project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program, aims to promote cycling among youngsters in suburban Tirana, focusing on the Kamëz area. This initiative seeks to enhance sustainable mobility by integrating cycling into the daily routines of students from five secondary schools. Through comprehensive surveys, cycling training, and infrastructure improvement, the project has increased bicycle usage and cycling safety awareness. Key activities include the distribution of bicycles, setup of bike lanes, and educational workshops on bike maintenance and road safety. Despite challenges such as infrastructure limitations and social hesitance towards cycling, the project has made significant achievement towards fostering a culture of cycling among youth, with plans to expand these efforts to influence broader educational and environmental policies. The project’s success is highlighted by its positive reception and the active participation of students, educators, and local government, aiming for a lasting impact on the community’s mobility habits.
Objectives & Goals:
The EduMove project focuses on promoting sustainable mobility among school-aged children in the Kamëz area of Tirana. By integrating cycling into their daily routines, the project aims to foster a positive attitude towards environmentally friendly transport methods.
Website: https://accting.eu/selected-pilot-projects/edu-move-boosting-bike-use-in-suburban-tirana-albania/
Melanogaster Catch the Fly! The citizen science network in adaptation genomics
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: La Ciència Al Teu Món
Short Description:
The first citizen science network on adaptation genomics “Melanogaster Catch the Fly!” (MCTF) addresses the global challenge of climate change by fostering grassroots participation in scientific research. MCTF engages rural citizens, including students, teachers, farmers, and policymakers, empowering them to monitor environmental variables and track Drosophila populations. This generates valuable data on biodiversity’s response to climate variability, advancing understanding of adaptation and resilience. Hands-on activities like species sampling, environmental monitoring, and molecular data analysis, improves scientific literacy, raises climate awareness, and bridges gaps between science and society, enhancing education on climate adaptation by providing accessible tools and training. MCTF promotes collaboration among citizens, academia, industry, and policymakers, increasing engagement and trust in science. Citizen co-authorship in publications, policy input, and participation in international conferences build institutional capacity and ensure coordinated climate action. MCTF highlights women in STEM leadership roles and fostering opportunities for young girls to explore science careers, while closing technology gaps and language barriers to ensure diversity in leadership and participation. MCTF expansion across Europe, seeks to amplify its impact in biodiversity conservation, education, and agriculture, aligning local solutions with broader climate resilience strategies.
Objectives & Goals:
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. Participants collect and classify fruit flies in natural habitats, supporting research on adaptation to environmental changes, key to addressing climate challenges like biodiversity loss, extreme weather, and food insecurity.
Website: https://melanogaster.eu/
MINDS: Measuring Impact of Norms in climate Disaster Scenarios
Country: Italy
Lead organisation: Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Mathematics and Physics Department
Short Description:
The project implement a different approach than using the measurement devices and sensors: one where the human mind serves as the primary measurement instrument. This methodology employs structured social games to convert human behavior into quantifiable data regarding community responses to climate risks, focusing on flooding events. The Collective Risk Social Dilemma game engages groups of six community members, each receiving €100 to manage flood prevention. The group must collectively contribute enough to reach a safety threshold or lose everything, creating stakes that mirror actual community decisions about flood prevention investments. The climate scenarios are based on flooding events in Emilia Romagna (May 2023 and 2024), ensuring participants engage with relevant situations. The scenarios incorporate variations, including future climate threats such as heat waves, to understand how communities adapt their decision-making. This behavioral citizen science approach provides unique insights into social norm development during climate crises. By observing how communities make collective decisions under risk, we generate valuable data about social adaptation – data that traditional monitoring alone cannot capture. The project combines climate science expertise with social behavior research to create a framework for understanding community resilience.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.uniroma3.it/
URBAN500 Walkability Platform
Country: Serbia
Lead organisation: Placemaking Western Balkans
Short Description:
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. Urban500 is an initiative that evaluates walkability within a 500-step radius in an exemplary central neighborhood (approximately 300 meters, representing a typical 15-minutes urban neighborhood). So far the initiative has taken place in Belgrade, capital of Serbia, and plans to expand to other two cities in the WB region, Skopje and Sarajevo. After its prototyping phase in 2024 which was supported by the IMPETUS4CS programme, the project seeks to expand to become a regional platform, where CS-driven databases on the walkability can be stored and exchanged. In this way, we aim to create a better understanding, partnerships development and application of CS-driven research, to face the demands for more sustainable mobility practices helping cities in the SEE region to adapt to climate change. The Urban500 Platform will serve to actively involve citizens in advancing the science behind designing walkable neighborhoods, and secondly, to provide a place where region-wide collaboratively generated data will be made openly available, capturing and visualising diverse user perceptions of streets, squares and parks in everyday life.
Objectives & Goals:
The Urban500 project has produced a web application using open-source StreetMap to facilitate co-design and data collection on walkability within 500 steps. The platform generates data sets (compatible with GIS) that assess the quality of pedestrian spaces and highlight areas for improvement. The assessment is based on the previously developed Scoreline method at the Faculty of Forestry in Belgrade.
Website: https://www.placemakingweb.org
Citizen Science-Powered Monitoring of Coastal Erosion
Country: Ireland
Lead organisation: University College Dublin
Short Description:
This project aims to expand and enhance the citizen science activities initiated in 2023. The scope of the ongoing ACTION project is to turn a technology used by scientists for the study of coastal morphodynamics into a citizen science initiative. The Smart Pebble technology offers a low-cost, scalable solution for assessing sediment transport, erosion patterns, and morphological changes in sediments. Its combination with a citizen science approach has the potential to empower local communities to conduct most of the activities independently, allowing them to actively participate in monitoring coastal dynamics by tracking pebble movement across the beach. Following the successful implementation of the Smart Pebbles project in Killiney, Dublin, involving local groups and schools, this project aims to empower communities to independently conduct their own citizen science initiatives. We will provide all necessary instrumentation and training, integrating these activities into their existing annual plans for village maintenance. The implementation of such an operational protocol would allow the continuous acquisition of data related to pebbles displacement and their morphological changes, providing the scientific team data with a temporal density never reached before within the scientific community. Based on the successful outcomes of this initial Irish project, we aim to develop a replicable citizen science model that can be adapted for implementation on other European beaches.
Objectives & Goals:
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. Prior to deployment, each Smart Pebble is 3D scanned and then precisely geolocated using an RTK-GPS. Citizen scientists periodically locate and recover the Smart Pebbles using the reader, re-acquiring their position and 3D model.
Website: https://score-eu-project.eu/2023/10/06/raising-students-awareness-with-the-smart-pebbles-workshop/
MountainsAlive
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Fundacio Centre de Regulacio Genomica
Short Description:
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. Pyrenean high mountain lakes harbor unique ecosystems shaped by the vital role of microorganisms. Due to their geographical isolation and Mediterranean climate, they are highly vulnerable ecosystems that face different threats from rising temperatures—occurring at rates faster than the global average—declining precipitation and increasing pressure from human activities. Characterizing and monitoring the biodiversity hosted in these lakes is key to protecting these ecosystems from the detrimental impacts of climate change and creating strategies to adapt to the current and future climate. The MountainsAlive initiative will bring together different stakeholders – civil society associations, local entrepreneurs, regional and national policymakers, administrative entities, and researchers – to raise awareness on the crucial work needed to slow down the ecological impact of human-based activities, including ecosystem destabilization, potential water quality deterioration, nutrient cycling disruption and reduced pollutant removal. With the support of ScienceUs, we aim to engage all segments of society to drive meaningful and lasting change by promoting socioeconomic policies that safeguard the environment and ecosystems of high-altitude lakes, by for example, encouraging sustainable, low-impact tourism.
Objectives & Goals:
The MountainsAlive proposal builds on the ongoing activities of PyriSentinel, a European-funded project uniting scientists from Spain, France, and Andorra to monitor biodiversity in the high-altitude lakes of the Pyrenees. Its scientific objective is to map microbial diversity, a crucial indicator of ecosystem health and a sentinel for detecting the impacts of climate change.
Website: https://www.crg.eu/
Observadores del Mar
Country: Spain
Lead organisation:
Institut de Ciències del Mar – CSIC
Short Description: Observadores del Mar is Spain’s leading marine citizen science platform, with over 12 years of experience engaging the public in marine conservation. Supporting 15 active projects and collaborating with 500+ entities, it has involved more than 5,000 participants in collecting reliable data for conservation and climate adaptation strategies. In 2024, the platform launched an initiative addressing four key climate change indicators: coral mortality caused by marine heatwaves, jellyfish blooms and distribution shifts, the expansion of thermophilic fish species, and the flowering patterns of Posidonia oceanica. Using a “train the trainers” model, 33 diving centers and 444 divers conducted over 400 surveys across Mediterranean ecosystems, generating valuable insights. Observadores del Mar’s custom-designed platform facilitates efficient data collection, validation, and visualization, enabling seamless collaboration between scientists and citizens. By aligning with EU Missions and Horizon Europe objectives, the platform provides harmonized, citizen-driven data to address shared challenges like biodiversity loss and habitat degradation. Its scalable and replicable model strengthens resilience and offers a robust solution for climate adaptation across European seas.
Objectives & Goals:
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. Observadores del Mar is building a robust network of observatories to track these effects with the support of volunteers and experts.
Website: https://www.icm.csic.es/
Citizen SeaWatch
Country: Israel
Lead organisation: Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI)
Short Description:
The SeaWatch app is already active in Israel for eight years, expanding its impact through partnerships with researchers and environmental authorities. 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. The project uses a bilingual mobile app that enables users to report illegal fishing, protected species trade, and activities in marine protected areas while also documenting wildlife observations. This data is shared with researchers and decision-makers to also support climate change adaptation strategies as well as providing real time and immediate solutions for received reports. SeaWatch was partly developed within the H2020 ODYSSEA project, which created a cost-effective platform to integrate observation and forecasting systems across the Mediterranean, including mobile apps for citizen science networks. SeaWatch was one of these apps. Development continues under the H2020 project EcoScope, which promotes ecosystem-based fisheries management, balancing ecological, economic, and social trade-offs. EcoScope also offers policymakers tools like interactive mapping layers. Recently, SeaWatch expanded to the Thracian Sea, with plans to adapt it for additional European seas under EcoScope’s workplan.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.teva.org.il/
SCI-FI Europe: Expanding Science for Inclusion Across Borders
Country: Italy
Lead organisation: Primo Principio
Short Description:
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. The project will involve vulnerable groups—such as individuals with mental health challenges, disabilities, and migrants—as active contributors to data collection and sustainable agricultural practices. Targeting rural areas in Europe, it aims to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, bridge the digital divide, and foster trust in innovative technologies. Through workshops, field activities, and co-designed solutions, SCI-FI Europe will promote cooperation between farmers, scientists, and citizens to build resilient agricultural systems. This initiative builds upon the SCI-FI pilot project –supported by the IMPETUS project– in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, which successfully demonstrated how marginalized groups could be empowered to lead scientific efforts in sustainable farming. By expanding the pilot’s methodology and tools, SCI-FI Europe will scale its impact, creating a replicable model for fostering environmental preservation and social inclusion across European regions.
Objectives & Goals:
Targeting rural areas in Europe, it aims to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, bridge the digital divide, and foster trust in innovative technologies.
Website: http://scienceforinclusion.it/
Night owl 2.0
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Associació Taxus
Short Description:
The general public may view owls as mysterious and mystical creatures due to their nighttime activity and the numerous legends surrounding them and their hooting. In certain areas, there is a lack of information about these animals, which is why this citizen science project is aimed at boosting the amount of information available about owls. In order to increase the amount of information about owls, it’s important to have a large number of people involved in this survey to study as many areas as possible. To accomplish this, the project will generate online learning materials that will be accessible to anyone interested etc.) in the project. The learning materials will be available on our association’s website. This educational material will equip our volunteers to participate in a yearly high-scale owl survey through a citizen science project. All this information will allow us to generate a large owl database that will increase the owl information around the study areas. Our association will be responsible that will increase the owl information around the study areas. Our association will be responsible for creating and organizing this database. Furthermore, this project will provide our volunteers with the opportunity to learn about the local owls and increase awareness about their local biodiversity and its threats. After the survey is complete, all the information will be publicly shared on our association’s website.
Objectives & Goals:
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
Country: Italy
Lead organisation: Club Alpino Italiano (CAI)
Short Description:
Groundwater vital for the welfare and resilience of both ecosystems and communities. Climate change, overexploitation, and pollution may threaten groundwater availability. Springs are the main manifestations of groundwater resources in mountainous territories. They can provide up to 75 % of total tap water. Not only sources of this vital resource, natural springs themselves can be sites of high biodiversity. It is then crucial to study, and protect springs and groundwater resources. To address these needs, the Italian Alpine Club launched the Acqua Sorgente national Citizen Science Project in April 2024.
The main objectives of the project are:
i) Implement and maintain a national database of spring monitoring data and analyze the data for hydrological research and water protection.
ii) Raise awareness about water resources and disseminate the scientific results.
Volunteers already started collecting spring data which include location, photos, water presence, flow rates, temperature, and electrical conductivity. The data are recorded on the smartphone application and with the portable probes distributed by the Alpine Club. All collected data are uploaded to the Open-Source database validated, and displayed on the interactive map. In 2024, the database reached over 800 validated entries. The data have been used to push hydrological research. Outreach efforts included public events, three high school projects and official collaborations with universities and research institutions.
Objectives & Goals:
The main objectives of the project are:
- i) Implement and maintain a national database of spring monitoring data and analyze the data for hydrological research and water protection.
- ii) Raise awareness about water resources and disseminate the scientific results.
Website: https://www.cai.it/
Alleviating Energy Poverty in Vulnerable households
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Spanish Red Cross
Short Description:
This project addresses energy poverty as a key barrier to climate adaptation in vulnerable communities. Building on existing education and awareness programs, it leverages citizen science methodologies to empower households to monitor, understand, and optimize their energy consumption. Through a participatory approach, citizens gather data on energy usage and housing conditions using tools such as energy surveys, thermal sensors, and on-site visits. This data generates actionable indicators to identify challenges, inform targeted interventions, and promote energy-efficient solutions that mitigate climate risks like heatwaves and cold spells. Implemented activities include home retrofitting and the adoption of soft energy efficiency measures. In collaboration with volunteers, local communities, and authorities, the project aims to: Raise awareness of energy efficiency. Facilitate citizen-led data collection to assess energy poverty and its impacts. Propose affordable and scalable solutions. Decrease emissions and enhance climate resilience The outcomes will contribute to the EU mission “Adaptation to Climate Change” by advancing inclusive strategies that improve living conditions while addressing environmental challenges. By combining citizen science with practical solutions, the project establishes a foundation for broader European initiatives, demonstrating how community-driven efforts can tackle societal and climate-related issues.
Objectives & Goals:
In collaboration with volunteers, local communities, and authorities, the project aims to:
- Raise awareness of energy efficiency.
- Facilitate citizen-led data collection to assess energy poverty and its impacts.
- Propose affordable and scalable solutions.
- Decrease emissions and enhance climate resilience.
Learning from Seahorses with a Biomimicry Perspective
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Hippocampus Association
Short Description:
The proposed project expands the audience of Hippocampus Association Citizen Science activities around marine biodiversity conservation. It will invite five pilot schools in Murcia (2o ESO students, 13/14 years old) and five tourism or local community organizations to participate in outdoor education at the Mar Menor lagoon (Murcia, Spain). With a focus on the seahorse fish, participants will explore the world of marine ecology by combining Citizen Science and Biomimicry (innovation inspired by nature) to enhance knowledge of biodiversity and climate change, as well, participate in a long-term marine monitoring project. Through activities such as taking a visual census of seahorse habitats, spotting invasive species, and uploading data to the Sea Observes platform, participants will explore the Mar Menor ecosystem, its resilience, and the seahorse monitoring program’s significance. Inspired by marine organisms, participants will design biomimetic communications to address environmental challenges and develop a sense of green active citizenship. These communications will be promoted via multiple channels of social media and outreach. Bridging professional scientists, civil organizations, youth education, and the private sector, the project combines outdoor learning, biomimicry, and citizen science to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change, creating a scalable, replicable model for regions worldwide. Using professional videography will expand the reach of project results
Objectives & Goals:
The project aims to support the seahorses in Spain’s National Catalogue of Endangered Species, contributing to national conservation policies. On a larger scale, the initiative serves as a model for policy development aimed at protecting marine species and habitats, with the potential for global replication. region of Romania (Arieș River in the North-West).
Website: https://asociacionhippocampus.com/
Drop of Air
Country: Romania
Lead organisation: IOT4NATURE
Short Description:
Drop of Air (www.stropdeaer.ro) is a citizen science initiative focused on empowering local communities to monitor and improve air quality through the use of simple, accessible technologies. The project encourages individuals to participate in data collection related to air pollution, particularly focusing on fine particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10) and humidity, temperature and pressure of air. By equipping citizens with low-cost sensors and providing a platform for sharing their findings, “Drop of Air” creates a collaborative space where people become active contributors to environmental science. 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. The collected data is not only accessible to participants but is also used to inform local governments, policymakers, and environmental organizations.
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.iot4nature.ro
EcoVoce – Scaling Up Citizen Science for Environmental Impact
Country: Romania
Lead organisation: Universitatea Babes-Bolyai
Short Description:
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. Through school activities, workshops, clean-up campaigns, and bio-blitzes, EcoVoce engaged citizens to monitor and report environmental issues. The EcoVoce app supports mapping and communicating findings to authorities and stakeholders. Aligned with New ERA goals, EcoVoce fosters collaboration among scientists, students, and citizens, promoting inclusivity and knowledge sharing. The project supports EU Missions, including Adaptation to Climate Change and Restore our Ocean and Waters, by enhancing community resilience, promoting biodiversity protection, and advancing sustainable solutions. It also aligns with A Soil Deal for Europe by addressing soil health through participatory approaches. EcoVoce seeks to scale its model across Northwestern Transylvania, leveraging the region’s biodiversity and cultural heritage to fill monitoring gaps. By expanding collaborations with universities, schools, NGOs, and stakeholders, EcoVoce promotes validated data collection and actionable insights for conservation. This community-driven, replicable initiative demonstrates the power of citizen science to advance environmental sustainability regionally and nationally.
Objectives & Goals:
EcoVoce is a citizen science project aimed at monitoring environmental problems in one particular region of Romania (Arieș River in the North-West). The existing activities include raising awareness of air and water pollution, degradation of biodiversity, and health risks induced by burning plastic, microplastic pollution and some dangerous materials such as asbestos.
Website: https://www.ubbcluj.ro
Mapping cyanobacterial toxic potential in European freshwaters together with citizens
Country: Slovenia
Lead organisation: National Institute of Biology (NIB)
Short Description:
Freshwater ecosystems, though limited in extent, are vital for humanity. Despite EU initiatives like the WFD (2000/60/EC), Natura 2000, EU Green Deal, 75% of European freshwaters have been heavily altered by human activities (IPBES, 2019). In Slovenia, freshwater habitats are among the most endangered, with eutrophication identified as the primary issue for lakes and reservoirs. Only 4 out of 11 studied waters achieved a good trophic state (ARSO, 2016–2019), underscoring the shortcomings of current water management practices. Cyanobacterial blooms, worsened by climate change, are a symptom of unsustainable water management. Cyanobacterial toxins pose a risk to human health and dense blooms harm ecosystems, degrade water quality, and pose risks to drinking water, fishing and recreation, causing economic losses exceeding billions annually in OECD countries (OECD, 2017). In 2022, we launched national cyano-platform “www.ciano.si” to engage citizens in reporting cyanobacterial blooms in Slovenia. Cyanobacteria’s toxic potential linked to climate change remains understudied due to limited long-term and spatial monitoring. This project aims to map cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwaters by involving citizens as key contributors. It will first enhance the Slovenian cyano-platform using a quadruple helix model to address climate adaptation, then replicate and upscale our case study across Europe, connecting national efforts to the www.cyano.eu platform (as a final vision).
Objectives & Goals:
This project aims to map cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwaters by involving citizens as key contributors. It will first enhance the Slovenian cyano-platform using a quadruple helix model to address climate adaptation, then replicate and upscale our case study across Europe, connecting national efforts to the www.cyano.eu platform (as a final vision).
Website: https://www.nib.si/eng/
¡Por otra Alimentación, Jóvenes en Acción!
Country: Spain
Lead organisation: Sustainable Living Foundation
Short Description:
¡Por otra Alimentación, Jóvenes en Acción (https://www.platoypaisaje.org/por-otra-alimentacion-jovenes-en-accion/) engages and empowers young people to advocate for sustainable, resilient, and territorialized food systems as a way to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) process, various groups of volunteers explore agroecological production, distribution, and consumption in their regions and carry out environmental education initiatives. 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. The project emphasizes the need to build alliances between science, producers (farmers and food processors), and consumers, while co-creating initiatives with young people in favor of a sustainable food system. This initiative is part of the program En Madrid, Cada Plato es un paisaje (https://www.platoypaisaje.org/proyecto/).
Objectives & Goals:
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.
Website: https://www.vidasostenible.org/
