Citizen Science Actions
| Action name | Short description | Target group | Organised by | Website | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications in Urban Ecology: Nature at Home – Pressures and Opportunities in Implementing Nature-Based Solutions in Residential Spaces | Non-formal scientific and educational activities, which will touch on aspects of urban ecology that are extremely important for the training of a specialist in sustainable development: organizing environmental research; collecting environmental data from the field; |
students | UB, UOC, APUR, SURE | https://eism.weebly.com/scoala-de-vara.html | National |
| Aqua S.O.S. | The newest interactive platform dedicated to all citizens who want to get involved in the assessment of water quality in Romania. ECOMORE – the research project that aims to bring citizens closer to science and science closer to citizens. In recent years, the public has contributed to the expansion of scientific knowledge, and a productive partnership between researchers and the public can improve the temporal and spatial dispersion of environmental data, providing complementary information about aquatic ecosystems. | citizens | INOE | https://aquasos.inoe.ro/index.php/about/ | National |
| Butterfly Monitoring Europe | We monitor butterflies in Romania through the European platform https://butterfly-monitoring.net The project is one initiated by Butterfly Conservation Europe and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology who have implemented a database and an online platform for recording butterflies on transects pre-established by citizens. Information about accessing the monitoring scheme and joining the platform is periodically transmitted during the monitoring workshops that we organize in collaboration with UBB Cluj, the ADEPT Transilvania Foundation and the Romanian Lepidopterological Society. |
citizens | UBB, ADEPT, SLR | https://citizenscience.openscience.ubbcluj.ro/projects/15 | International |
| Chituc Ranging Camp | The research camp on Grindul Chituc has been operating in its current form since 2014, and aims to study the autumn migration of birds that bypass the Black Sea through Romania. In the last ten years, the ornithological experts and volunteers who ensure the operation of the camp have ringed 145,000 specimens of 184 bird species. The activity lasts between 15-17 weeks annually, and the operation of the camp is ensured almost entirely by a number of 170-200 volunteers, creating an excellent opportunity to learn about migration and birds in an enchanting natural setting. | citizens | UBB | https://citizenscience.openscience.ubbcluj.ro/projects/24 | Sud-Est |
| Danube Growth Intiative | Competition of business ideas in the blue economy targeting areas such as advanced infrastructure development; software development; technologies regarding the reduction of emissions; energy efficiency systems; advanced manufacturing technologies. | citizens | DJG, OpenHub | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064158156456 | Sud-Est |
| eBird | eBird is among the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed annually by eBirders around the world and an average participation growth rate of approximately 20% year over year. eBird began with a simple idea—that every birdwatcher has unique knowledge and experience. Our goal is to gather this information in the form of checklists of birds, archive it, and freely share it to power new data-driven approaches to science, conservation and education. At the same time, we develop tools that make birding more rewarding. From being able to manage lists, photos and audio recordings, to seeing real-time maps of species distribution, to alerts that let you know when species have been seen, we strive to provide the most current and useful information to the birding community. | citizens | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | https://ebird.org/home | International |
| EcoPulsUrban | Promoting the separate collection of recyclable waste and changing the mentality of tourists and city residents by adopting an appropriate eco-civic behavior towards the environment. Also, within the same project, a large greening action was carried out on the beach in Mamaia | citizens | Ecosynergy | https://ecosynergy.ro/portfolio/actiune-ecologizare-plaja-septembrie-2022/ | Sud-Est |
| ECOVOCE | Through the EcoVoce project we promote community-based participatory research (CBPR) in order to develop a framework for monitoring environmental issues directly by local communities, using the concept of Voluntary Geographic Information (VGI). Through this project, we developed the EcoVoce mobile application (https://ecovoce.ro/) with content and architecture personalized to the study area (Câmpeni - Bistra - Lupșa - Baia de Arieș, Alba County), an application promoted through a dedicated promotion strategy. | citizens | UBB | https://citizenscience.openscience.ubbcluj.ro/projects/2 | Centru |
| Educational activity with schools in the Țara Hațegului UNESCO International Geopark | As part of the educational project "Putting sustainability to work!", "Babeș-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca contributes with scientific and methodological expertise to the activity of determining the quality of water from alternative sources on the territory of the UNESCO International Geopark Țara Hațegului. The activity involves schools by supporting teachers, students and volunteers in the process of collecting water samples, as well as in the analysis and interpretation of physico-chemical parameters relevant for assessing the quality of local sources. This action aims not only to develop the scientific skills of the participants, but also to raise awareness of the importance of water quality, strengthening the connection between research, education and the local community. | students 8-18 yrs | UBB | https://unibuc.ro/primul-proiect-de-stiinta-participativa-care-ii-provoaca-pe-elevii-profesorii-voluntarii-si-comunitatile-locale-din-geoparcul-international-unesco-tara-hategului-administrat-de-ub-sa-actioneze-sus/ | Vest |
| Education for sustainable development (Educatie pentru dezvoltare durabila) | Conservation of biodiversity and rational use of resources. | students | ONG Mare Nostrum | http://www.marenostrum.ro | Sud-Est |
| iNaturalist | iNaturalist's mission is to connect people to nature and advance biodiversity science and conservation by building a global community that shares observations of wild organisms, turning everyday discoveries into valuable data for researchers and conservationists. | citizens | California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society | https://www.inaturalist.org/ | International |
| Know the quality of drinking water (Cunoaște calitatea apei de băut) | The activity was designed to promote in the community the scientific methodology followed by researchers in their studies and to transform the participant into a scientist who contributes to research using the scientific method. Initially, it was proposed to the general public, taking place at the level of Cluj and Bistrița-Năsăud counties, within the project The Green Deal: Research communication to CommuNities (ReCoN-nect), Project code H2020-MSCA-NIGHT-2020bis, No. contract 101036166. Since the initiative enjoyed great interest, especially among schools, it was later continued, developed at national level and supported within the project ReCoNnect: Research Communication for active learning, Project code HORIZON-MSCA-2022-CITIZENS-01, No. contract 101061680. Through the kits, provided free of charge within the 2 mentioned projects, the participants determined a number of 10 general and specific water parameters from 480 sources, wells and springs. The data obtained were sent via a form and were validated by researchers from the Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering. Subsequently, they were capitalized by creating an interactive map of water quality. Thus, the results obtained by each participant can be found on the map, located at the sampling point, reported to the maximum limits allowed by legislation for drinking water. The map highlighted, through color codes, the water quality, evaluated by calculating a specific index. The activity is currently ongoing, through this Citizen Science, aiming to involve as many citizens as possible and, through the determinations made by them, to complete, at a national level, the map of drinking water quality from alternative sources (wells and springs). | citizens | ReCoNnect, UBB | https://noapteacercetatorilor.educatiepentrustiinta.ro/concurs | Nord-Vest |
| Let's Do It, Romania! | The largest social movement in Romania, with over 2,672,785 volunteers involved in 14 years of activity. For 14 years, Let’s Do It, Romania! has been dedicated to promoting cleanliness and creating a culture of volunteerism in Romania, by organizing large-scale events, educational campaigns and recycling projects, mobilizing communities across the country to combat the waste problem and promote a sustainable lifestyle. | citizens | Let's Do It, Romania! | https://letsdoitromania.ro/ | National |
| Let's Go Sampling Together | This hands-on initiative coordinated by the JRC and supported by the ICPDR gave students the opportunity to actively participate in the world’s largest surface water monitoring survey, as ‘citizen scientists’ engaging in real-world environmental research to protect the Danube River. This initiative has empowered students to become active participants in real-world environmental monitoring, demonstrating how collective action can make a significant difference in the health of our waterways. |
students | Joint Research Centre (JRC) | https://www.danubesurvey.org/jds5/citizen-science-lets-go-sampling-together | International |
| Ornitodata | Ornitodata is the Field Observation Database of the Romanian Ornithological Society. The Database was conceived as a tool to facilitate the collection and dissemination of observational data among people interested in this subject. The main section contains observational data on birds, but there are additional sections for mammals and herpetofauna (and soon there will be sections for other taxonomic groups). For data collection, Ornitodata has a free mobile application (requires account creation), available for both Android and iOS. | citizens | SOR | https://pasaridinromania.sor.ro/ornitodata | National |
| Plastic Pirates | The Plastic Pirates project, born in Germany and funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe program, brings to the forefront the urgent need to protect riparian ecosystems, through concrete actions and the collection of rigorous scientific data. Plastic Pirates is considered one of the most important initiatives in the field of Citizen Science, a model of collaboration between researchers and citizens, which directly contributes to understanding and solving current environmental challenges. | students | UBB | https://citizenscience.openscience.ubbcluj.ro/projects/45 | International |
| Remarkable Trees of Romania | The project "Remarkable Trees of Romania" has the only profile website in the country dedicated specifically to the review of old trees, currently (December 2023) including over 5500 reviewed trees and 565 active volunteers. It can be accessed at https://arboriremarcabili.ro/ro/despre-proiect/ | citizens | UBB | https://citizenscience.openscience.ubbcluj.ro/projects/4 | National |
| ScienceUs | ScienceUs is a project funded by the Horizon Europe programme, addressing the EU Mission "Adaptation to Climate Change". ScienceUs aims to create a framework for existing citizen science initiatives, with the aim of creating a European citizen science network. A combined support programme of direct funding and support services will be provided to a group of citizen science initiatives with high potential to be scaled up at a European scale. A consistent set of communication, dissemination and knowledge transfer activities will be implemented to involve all actors in the quadruple helix around the citizen science network. | students | UB | https://citizenscience.openscience.ubbcluj.ro/projects/42 | International |
| Smart4Nature | The SMART4NATURE project mainly aims to educate young people in Brasov and Bistrita Năsăud counties about the diversity of environmental issues. | students 8-18 yrs | „SUPORT REGIUNEA CENTRU” Association | https://smart4nature.ro/ | Centru |
| test | testEN | — | |||
| The Air Drop (Strop de Aer) | The Air Drop project is an IOT project, which collects and processes data from air quality sensors. This data is pre-processed and sent via Wi-Fi to several platforms to be made available online to any citizen concerned about air quality, but also to be compared with EU limit values or to estimate possible cases where the air becomes dangerous for the population. With this initiative we aim to raise the awareness of Romanian residents about this problem and to provide real-time information on air quality throughout the country. Based on the information that is available online and on the display of each sensor, residents are informed about certain recommendations | citizens, students | IoT4Nature | Acasa - Strop de aer | Centru |
| The dew drop (Strop de rouă) - a water quality monitoring project | The idea of the project came as a challenge from the Mures Community Foundation to monitor a societal problem: water pollution. We started this project by engaging citizens and arousing their interest, getting them to donate money for a first kit to measure the necessary parameters, from which the water quality in the Târgu Mureș area would be derived. With experience on IoT projects and devices and sensors that measure elements in the environment, we decided to develop a mobile solution to test the following surface water parameters namely pH, temperature, oxidation factor, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and electrical conductivity. Together with the Mai Mult Verde Association this project was extended nationwide by testing the water quality in the Danube and later on the main tributaries. |
citizens | IoT4Nature | Acasă | Strop de rouă | Centru |
| We act for Water! – A.P.A (Acţionăm pentru Ape!) – A.P.A | Involvement in preventing and combating water pollution in Romania, carrying out studies on waste pollution, education campaigns at the community level and waste recycling, but also the integration of new waste recovery technologies with the aim of facilitating the transition to a circular economy. | citizens | Asociația Act for Tomorrow și Kaufland România, cu sprijinul Ministerul Mediului, Apelor și Pădurilor, Administraţiei Naționale Apele Române | https://actfortomorrow.ro/ | National |
| With Clean Waters (Cu Apele Curate) | The most easily measurable goal of the program is to reduce the amount of plastic in the Danube, Romania's main river. | citizens | Asociatia Mai Mult Verde, LIDL România | https://cuapelecurate.ro/ | National |
| You message in a bottle | FOUND A MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE AND UNSURE WHAT TO DO? It’s simple! Take out your smartphone and note the coordinates where you found the bottle. Then, write the coordinates on the message (there’s a dedicated line for finders) with a pen. Next, take a photo of the message (with your coordinates on it) and email it to aquaticplastic@petkupa.hu. After sending the email, place the message back in the bottle and leave it as it was, allowing it to continue its journey. Why? Find out in the project description below! Thank you for contributing to citizen science! | citizens | Interreg Danube Region | https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/aquatic-plastic/news/citizen-science-campaign? | International |
| Zero Plastic Patrol (Patrula Zero Plastic) | Elimination of existing plastic in the Danube Delta | citizens | WWF-România și Lidl România | https://wwf.ro/campanii/patrula-zero-plastic/ | Sud-Est |