It’s a great moment for biodiversity and citizen science enthusiasts! While Citizen Science Month events are coming to an end (but will still continue until the end of May), many other citizen science events focused on the natural world are coming up.
Here are a couple of events we suggest.
Whatever it takes – BioBlitz a tutti i costi
When: May 15, from 8 AM to 12 AM CEST
Where: Anywhere in Italy
BioBlitz a tutti i costi (“BioBlitz no matter how”) is an event targeted to enthusiasts of all ages, researchers and experts to share photos and identify the largest possible number of (non-domestic) animal and plant species within 12 hours, using the social platform iNaturalist. It’s a citizen science event for the pandemic age: everyone is encouraged to participate, even indoors, by sharing old photos from everyone’s personal archive. As in regular BioBlitz gatherings, the list of all the identified species will be published at the end of the event; but unlike regular meetings, there are no regional limits: people can participate from all over Italy and also submit photos taken in other countries.
Learn more on museonaturalemaremma.it
Image via Museo di Storia Naturale della Maremma
La Gran Semana – Ciencia Ciudadana por la Biodiversidad
When: From May 16 to May 23
Where: Multiple locations in Spain
La Gran Semana (“The Great Week“) is a participatory challenge with the objective to do a great survey of biodiversity data every year. It’s a citizen science event at the national level, that involves naturalists, scientists, conservation organizations and institutions that want to promote citizen science: all with the aim to promote biodiversity conservation and education. During The Great Week, participants are mobilized all across Spain, with a series of events coordinated by citizen participation platforms for biodiversity, and by naturalist and scientific organizations. The observations are submitted and collected through different apps and platforms, such as Biodiversidad Virtual and eBird; then all data is gathered to analyze results and compare them to previous years.
Dozens of institutions and groups collaborate to make The Great Week possible; among them is also NEWSERA’s own Ibercivis, a non-profit foundation for the promotion of Citizen Science.
Learn more on lagransemana.org
Map via La Gran Semana
Cover image by Cottonbro/Pexels