SeaPaCS
Chiara Certomà
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Water
Mentor: Karen Soacha
SeaPaCS - “Participatory Citizen Science against marine pollution” intends to raise awareness about the consequences of marine plastic pollution on local biodiversity and to trigger transformative local action for sustainability-oriented behaviours in the small coastal city of Anzio (Rome).
Reknotting marine biodiversity
Domenico D'Alelio
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Water
Mentor: Yaela Golumbic
Coastal peripheries host overwhelming cultural heritage and pristine natural habitats, but they can be demographically and economically depressed and weakly monitored by marine ecologists. In some of these localities, local sailors are focal nodes of interpersonal networks, conduct recreational activities with tourists, run educational projects involving schools, and are enthusiastic promoters of ocean literacy
Citizen Observatory of Apuan Waters
Laura Grassi
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Water
Mentor: Savita Willmott
The project aims to assess the quality of water resources, including rivers, spring waters, thermal waters and underground waters in the Apuan Alps in Italy that are affected by marble quarry pollution, and demanding the protection of this water-related ecosystem. We plan to create a citizen science initiative to monitor water quality over five months in the Lucido and Frigido River basins: Lucido river basin is a little-studied water basin in the area, instead, the Frigido River basin is the most polluted.
Citizens for SDG 15.1
Ivana Radovic
Topic: Soil
Mentor: Sasha Woods,
This project will provide establishment of the community and collection and processing of data which will contribute to the SDG 15, Target 15.1., with special attention to the indicator 15.1.2. - proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered by protected areas, by ecosystem type.
META+
Liesbet Jacobs
Sustaining Grant
Topic: Water
Mentor: Louise Francis
Microfibers released from textiles are a major source of microplastic pollution in the Netherlands. Reducing these emissions can thus only be tackled through research integrated across disciplines. In this proposal, we build on META, a transdisciplinary collaboration launched in 2022 that integrates methods in synthetic microfiber sampling, Citizen Science, and environmental psychology.
Project Poseidon
Karen Fiorini
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Seagrass
Mentor: Stefanie Schuerz
Project Poseidon brings NGOs, as well as researchers, refugees and locals together. Citizens will collect and monitor plastic pollution accumulating in the beach wrack of the Posidonia oceanica seagrass, the “lungs of the Mediterranean’’, for the critical ecosystem services it provides.
Posidonia gardeners
Manuel Marinelli
Sustaining Grant
Topic: Seagrass
Mentor: Ilídio André Costa
“Posidonia Gardeners” proposes a 1-month citizen science sailing campaign dedicated to Posidonia oceanica around the Mediterranean’s largest island – Sicily, to protect and restore the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, a keystone species of the Mediterranean sea. The goal of this campaign is to extend the citizen science efforts of Project Manaia (PM) in the region of Sicily by involving local entities into data collection as well as hands on replanting efforts on Posidonia oceanica to achieve a bigger impact and activate a larger community of professional (PS) and citizen scientists (CS).
Revealing Secrets
Djordj Stamkoski
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Biodiversity
Mentor: Inês Navalhas
This pilot project kick-starts a national campaign called “BioDiscovery 2023 North Macedonia”, which enables young citizen scientists to play their part in raising public awareness and supporting policy advocacy on biodiversity issues in North Macedonia (MKD).
Recording Irish Otters
Gill Weyman
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Biodiversity
Mentor: Patrícia Tiago
Ireland is a stronghold for the Eurasian Otter in Europe. However, available data on otter populations and distribution within Ireland are on broad scale. We aim to improve the fidelity of data on Otter distribution in Ireland by giving Citizen Scientists the tools and skills to report on Otter signs (prints and spraint) in urban rivers and waterways.
Sicily's Indigenous CyberTrackers
Hanna Rasper
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Biodiversity
Mentor: Bruna Gumiero
Sicily holds huge potential for rewilding actions. However, two essential factors are lacking: (1) a qualitative, up to date, open access database for wildlife populations and (2) ‘pro-Rewilding’culture practiced by the public, researchers and decision makers supporting rewilding in the long-term.
Science à la Pelle
Marguerite Foissac
Sustaining Grant
Topic: Soil
Mentor: Jacqueline Goldin
Raising public awareness to the risk of future pandemic due to antibiotic resistance has become a major objective of public health in recent years. This follows decades-long deficit in discovering new antibiotics due in part to lack of investment but mainly to saturation of current approaches. To help mitigate both obstacles, Science à la Pelle (SciPelle) will enable direct contributions from the public to discover new antibiotics.
See Science, Save Seashores
Agnieszka Grygoruk
Sustaining Grant
Topic: Coasts
Mentor: Karen Soacha
The project aims to better understand and protect the waterfront habitats of the Baltic Sea through innovations to the citizen science approach: networking, interdisciplinarity and accessibility of research. It will provide citizen research data about mesoplastic and seaweed distribution on Polish coastal lines, followed by their incorporation in environmental studies, carried out by scientists in the Institute of Oceanology of Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot (IO PAN).
CRESCO Citizen rescuers for collections
Luiza Mitrache / Larissa Smirnova
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Biodiversity
Mentor: Gefion Thuermer
The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) and the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), want to engage a broad audience in the valorization of the entomology, ornithology and wood biology collections through using virtual crowdsourcing platforms and through physical Citizen Science (CS) investigation actions
From Sea to Street
Sophia Kochalski
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Biodiversity
Mentor: Carolina Dopico González
“From Sea to Street” is a citizen science initiative (CSI) aimed at addressing key challenges facing the ocean (marine ecosystem) today. The project answers the question of whether and how murals, a specific form of street art, can inspire people to take care of coastal and ecosystems and their sustainable use in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A WIld Future for Orchids
Simone Cutajar
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Biodiversity
Mentor: Stefanie Schuerz
The project aims to generate scientifically sound data on the abundance and distribution
of Maltese orchids while training and motivating volunteers to participate as citizen scientists, by building a cohort of veteran and new citizen scientists who are enthusiastic about continuing the vital monitoring work, establishing a core team of citizen scientists, creating an action group that will develop a management strategy and publish a first paper on the topic.
Challenge #2: Cities for Life projects
A CiTizen science approach for data acquisition on coastal erosION
Alessandro Pozzebon
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Coasts
Mentor: Patrícia Tiago
ACTION aims at experimenting a smart sensing technology for coastal erosion exploiting the support of multiple user groups, targeting in particular at high school students. The project exploits low-cost sensing devices, called Smart Pebbles, which can be used to study coastal erosion processes. These devices are basically real pebbles taken from cobble beaches, and provided with sensing features.
Equity in health for LGBTQIA+ people
Ana Macedo
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Health
Mentor: Joana Magalhaes
This project’s main goal is to contribute to improving the health status and equity of people belonging to sexual and/or gender minorities (LGBTQIA+), by assessing the knowledge and raising the awareness of health professionals working in primary health care in the Algarve Region, regarding health disparities of LGBTQIA+ people.
Obstetric coevolution
Irene Lapuente
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Health
Mentor: Louise Francis
Obstetric coevolution works on the research question of how obstetric practices affect women’s mental health, including postpartum depression. The research consists of organizing co-creation workshops in Barcelona, with women and other stakeholders (partners, midwives, obstetricians, and perinatal psychologists, among others) and the use of other participatory tools, such as a cocreated survey
Healthcare space UX
Zala Velkavrh
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Health
Mentor: Isabelle Bonhoure
What is the user experience of patients in open spaces of urban healthcare institutions? The project aims to answer this research question by including vulnerable users (patients) as citizen scientists to collect data needed to evaluate and improve open space planning, management and maintenance. Citizen scientists will be able to measure their user experience of open spaces in healthcare institutions digitally with an app, or with the assistance from our team, should they need it.
MENtal Health and wellbeing Improvement during pregNAncy
Patricia Martínez Galisteo
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Health
Mentor: Christiane Grill
Pregnancy is a significant life stage linked to events that can affect mental health and wellbeing. The objective of the project is to carry out a citizen science initiative to investigate mental health status and wellbeing of pregnant women (PW) by including them as part of the research to understand in depth what women feel, care about, and need during pregnancy.
New model of care for endometriosis patient through citizen science
Anne-Sophie Gresle
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Health
Mentor: Antonella Passani
The Patient Experience Observatory at Hospital Clinic Barcelona in collaboration with the Gynaecology Department is embarking on a citizen science initiative aimed at developing an innovative care model for women receiving treatment for endometriosis at the hospital.
Every walk you Take
Maria Grau
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Health
Mentor: Christiane Grill
The aim of “Every Walk You Take” (EWYT) is to empower the local inhabitants of Barcelona to experience an active and healthy aging process. A uHealth platform with personalized healthy routes according to the user geolocalization, preferences and with real-time information on air quality and climate, will be co-created and tested in a pilot study in a project managed by a stakeholder community
CER.TOSA - Community for EneRgy. TOrpignattara Sustainability Action
Lucie Greyl
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Socio-economic inclusion
Mentor: Margarita Angelidou
CER.TOSA will contribute to the development of a sustainable and equitable energy community in Torpignattara, Rome, by focusing on the needs and aspirations of local communities. It will conduct a participatory analysis of socio-economic vulnerabilities in the neighbourhood of Torpignattara, using open and citizen science approaches.
Citizen’s Energy
Yagiz Eren Abanus
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Socio-economic inclusion
Mentor: Yaela Golumbic
Our project is a contribution to the climate & social justice struggle to increase people’s resilience, influence public opinion through creative storytelling methods, and raise the awareness of policymakers by producing quantitative and qualitative data on the vulnerability of individuals and households regarding energy poverty and heat waves.
Collect to Connect
Caryn Davies
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Biodiversity
Mentor: Carolina Dopico
To achieve greater collective climate action and increase biodiversity in green spaces, at a neighbourhood level, we need to interconnect green initiatives, researchers, residents, and others that care for the protection of biodiversity in Knowle West, South Bristol. Through creative methods & tools we will engage and connect local green initiatives. Through experimentation and collective learning we will develop citizen science tools, practices & technologies, laying the foundations for a Citizen Observatory and more citizen science in the future.
Pollinating Athens
Nikolaos Chatzilias
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Biodiversity
Mentor: Jacqueline Goldin
The Pollinating Athens project is built on three key pillars: "BioBlitzes," where citizens photograph pollinators and urban flora and upload their observations to iNaturalist, gathering essential data on local biodiversity; data analysis to assess biodiversity levels and identify key food plants for pollinators, along with lab testing of urban hive products to ensure their safety and quality; and engaging storytelling and education, which aims to inform the community about pollinators through hive visits, hands-on activities like building insect hotels, and learning about the lifecycles of honeybees and other pollinators, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for these vital creatures.
CALOR - Climate Adaptation: Local knOwledge and Resilience
Lea Karrasch
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Climate
Mentor: Alexandra Albert
Barcelona’s urban heat island effect exacerbates the intensity of heat waves, which are increasing due to global warming, and makes the city less livable, becoming a major health problem. The CALOR project aims to investigate the causes of the urban heat island effect through the principle of citizen science, empowering citizens to become agents of change by raising awareness through different tangible methods and different levels of analysis.
Citizen Scientist Monitoring of Local Road Traffic Interventions
Chloe McFarlane
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Mobility
Mentor: Cristina Luís
Our project’s objective is to explore how citizen science can effectively connect diverse groups with the Local Authorities, involving such stakeholders in transparent, impartial and collaborative data collection processes that communicate and identify concerns and solutions to deliver high-quality LTNs. Our case study area is Lambeth, South London.
Citizen Traffic Radar - CITRAD
Benedikt Stahl
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Mobility
Mentor: Isabelle Bonhoure
In order to make the traffic turnaround and its necessity more comprehensible for everyone, we, as an association that runs an open workshop, want to implement radar-based traffic monitoring carried out together with the citizens. The underlying research question thereby is: What is the character of traffic in terms of quantity, type and speed at different locations in the city of Cottbus? And which impacts it has on the life on the citizens at this place, and what we will be the benefits in the case of a reduction of the car traffic.
Towards inclusive urban mobility
Damian Jasiński
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Mobility
Mentor: Cristina Luís
The project wants to identify, analyse and raise awareness about the barriers in public transport for people with disabilities in Toruń, engaging them and their community in citizen science activities. It aims to study accessibility gaps in the public transport in Toruń, to provide the city authorities with data, illustrating the levels of satisfaction of passengers with disabilities (PwD) from using public transport.
Accessible Kadıköy
Mert Yaman
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Accessibility
Mentor: Christiane Grill
Our project aims to enhance accessibility and inclusivity in Kadıköy through the development and integration of an app module within the existing Digital Kadıköy application. By leveraging citizen science methods and engaging the community, we strive to address the challenges faced by individuals with restricted mobility.
LBI Accessibility Audits
Hezi Yaacov-Hai
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Accessibility
Mentor: Margarita Angelidou
The LBI Accessibility Audit project is divided into two components. The first one is a public realm accessibility audit of Islington’s Mildmay ward, providing essential information on obstacles found on streets and pavements which would affect disabled people, taking a pan-disability perspective.
Communities Against Violence
Danielle Fernandes
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Gender
Mentor: Rachel Pateman
Sexual violence and harassment (SVH) is increasingly recognized as a societal challenge in Brussels. Researchers and policymakers have suggested educational approaches to generate awareness, challenge norms and improve the capacity of bystanders. This project proposes to address SVH in urban spaces, through a citizenled intervention, which will use a game-based approach.
Mapping for Recreation
Ekaterina (Katja) Egorova
Kickstarting Grant
Topic: Mobility
Mentor: Louise Francis
In this project, we will introduce newly arrived youths from Ukraine temporarily residing in refugee facilities in Twente (The Netherlands) to citizen science by engaging them in the active exploration and mapping of informal places for sports and recreation.
Accelerator Impact- 2023
Check out the breakdown of the impact of our 2023 IMPETUS Accelerator call for Citizen Science Projects.
