Dossier
WUR Citizen Science Hub
Engaging citizens in science is critical for a variety of reasons: it can actively connect them to issues that affect their everyday health and the quality of their local environment, it can help them understand how science works, it can inspire and empower them to take action, and it can improve science itself.
Citizen Science as active citizenship?
Citizen Science combines the power of active citizenship with the power of science by involving citizens with different backgrounds and interests in, amongst others, articulating research questions, collecting and analyzing data, and determining action, for example advocating for policy change. In doing so, citizens work closely together with scientists working at universities and research institutes who aim to have positive societal impact.
Citizen Science at Wageningen University & Research
Wageningen University & Research has long been involved in a wide range of Citizen Science projects. These projects focus on the monitoring, assessing and addressing of local and regional sustainable development issues around health and well-being, climate change, the quality of air, water and soils, and the conservation and regeneration of biodiversity.
The WUR Citizen Science Hub aims to strengthen capacity building for Citizen Science within and beyond WUR. To this end, the Hub:
- provides an online portal showcasing diverse Citizen Science projects at WUR
- organizes regular Community of Practice meetings to connect people and to stimulate learning around a variety of different Citizen Science related topics
- supports in the initiation of Citizen Science projects
- aims to contribute to the development of (online) training and education material to support citizens, researchers, teachers, students and professionals with an interest in Citizen Science
To realize the above, the Hub collaborates with, amongst others, the Wageningen Science Shop, the WUR library, the public library of Wageningen (de bblthk, including Stadslab), the WUR Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) and the different Science Groups. In this way, the Hub contributes to putting into practice the WUR Open Science & Education program, in which Citizen Science forms one of the four program lines.
Online course about Citizen Science
Take a look at our MOOC Transformative Citizen Science for Sustainability.
News
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Join the National Open Science Festival and Barcamp 2024
- The National Open Science Festival will take place on Tuesday 22 October at Maastricht University. You can also attend the Barcamp on Monday 21 October, organised by the Dutch network of Open Science Communities (OSC-NL. Registration is currently closed due to high demand. More spots will be released soon; please join the waiting list through the registration portal. -
Unveiling the lionfish invasion in the Mediterranean Sea
- Researchers from Wageningen University & Research have published a comprehensive study on the invasion of lionfish in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting a rapid spread and the potential ecological impacts. -
Amsterdam: how hot is it in your house?
- Are you living in Amsterdam and suffering from the heat, or are you keeping your cool? We'd like to hear how warm it is at your place and how you're experiencing that heat. It's very simple: take a picture of your thermostat and choose an emoji that represents your feelings about the temperature. This way, you contribute to scientific research. You can participate until Sunday, September 10th. -
Thousands of wow moments in campus nature
- WUR’s campus is home to many different species, as was shown during the Biodiversity Challenge that took place from 23 May until 1 June. The goal of identifying 1000 species was achieved, and WUR came in fourth in the European competition. But how does such a challenge benefit biodiversity? According to Bio Systemics teacher Casper Quist, ‘It is all about wonderment.’ -
TRED conference brings science and society together for collaboration
- How can we bring knowledge from society into scientific research? And how do we ensure that researchers and society find and strengthen each other? These questions are central to the TRED conference, a three-day programme taking place online and in Wageningen from 12 June to 14 June. -
Follow the crane migration live with the "Crane Radar"
- Birdwatchers beware! The next few weeks are all about crane migration. When the wind is just right, sometimes thousands of "cranes" fly over the Netherlands. But even with those numbers, it is not easy to spot them. That is why Dr Koen de Koning, in collaboration with Sensing Clues, developed an app that works as a 'rainfall radar for cranes'. This makes spotting a lot easier.
