Explore Citizen Science Projects
Welcome at Österreich forscht!
Here you can find everything about Citizen Science in Austria. In the future, it should be just as normal to work in a citizen science project as to be a member of an association, e. g. the voluntary fire brigade or a music ensemble. We want people to see science no longer as an elite programme, but as a process that affects all our lives, a process which is an important part of society and is worth understanding. However, the fun and enjoyment of research should not be neglected. We do not understand citizen science as an infotainment concept, but as a collaborative process through which new insights can be gained.
DeVOTE
- politics
DeVOTE is a research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) from January 2021 to December 2025, and led by Ass.-Prof. Carolina Plescia to develop and apply a new approach to study what ‘voting’ means for ordinary citizens. The project’s goals are: understand what ‘voting’ means for ordinary citizens; examine the variation…
The Austrian wide winter bird count of BirdLife Austria Every year, the bird conservation organisation BirdLife Austria hosts the "Hour of Winter Birds", the Austrian winter bird count. All nature lovers are invited to count birds for one hour on the days around January 6th. All participants actively contribute to…
Pollen Diary
- plants
- weather
- health
The Pollen Diary was launched back in 2009 as a scientific project as part of a master's thesis at the WU Vienna Executive Academy. Meanwhile it has become an important service for pollen allergy sufferers in 13 European countries: Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Serbia,…
PATIO - Patient Involvement in Oncology
- language
- health
Be an expert on your disease and join our research! The PATIO initiative is working hard to strengthen the voices of prostate cancer patients and their caregivers heard in medical research. Why is it important to act now? Porstate cancer affects a considerable number of people in Austria. On the one…
ABOL-BioBlitzes
- animals
The lack of sustainability in human activity is leading to the global destabilisation of our natural systems. The resulting biodiversity and climate crises require a transformation to an environmentally sustainable society. However, the expertise in the field of taxonomy required for this transformation is often only shared by a few…
Ural owl
- animals
Ural owl resettlement The resettlement of the Ural owl is led by a team of researchers headed by ornithologist Richard Zink at the Austrian Ornithological Centre at "Vetmeduni" Vienna. The goal is the "Come Back" of the big owl into the forests of Austria. A new occurrence in the alps…
City-Zen Boden
- plants
- food
“Healthy Soil" research platform for Viennese community gardens As a follow-up project to "Heavy Metal City-Zen", we are once again inviting Viennese community gardens, garden projects or similar garden initiatives to take part in this project and conduct research together with us. The aim of this project is to scientifically…
HealthFerm
- health
- food
The sourdough microbiome Attention sourdough bakers and fermentation enthusiasts - HealthFerm is researching plant-based and fermented foods you eat and raise in your home! Fermented foods are present both in our daily diet and in various food cultures: from sourdough bread to beer, wine, pickles, sauerkraut, miso, kombucha, and much…
Golden jackal
- animals
The golden jackal (Canis aureus) was not considered native in Austria, until the first golden jackal discovery was made in 1987, followed by sporadic records scattered over several federal states and in 2007 the first reproduction record was documented in the National Park "Neusiedler See-Seewinkel". Since then, rumours about camera…
Fire Database
- plants
- weather
- economy
- land use
- catastrophs
In the Institute of Silviculture at the BOKU University, the occurrence, spread, causes and characteristics of forest fires in Austria have been analysed as part of various research projects since 2008. The array stretches back over several decades and includes approximately 8,000 fires, more than 7,000 of which were categorised…
Restore4Life
- plants
- animals
- land use
- water
What can we do to protect our wetlands and floodplains in Europe? What does the water management need to implement measure for the benefit of both the environment and the human society? The Horizon Europe project Restore4Life aims at offering an online system that supports the restoration of wetlands in Europe. One…
Bumblebee Monitoring Austria
- plants
- animals
- land use
Citizen science-based bumblebee monitoring is a pillar of the Austrian wild bee survey. Most wild bee species can only be distinguished under a microscope. The genus of bumblebees (Bombus) is an exception and can usually be distinguished at species level after a training phase in the field (see Gokcezade et…
SPOTTERON - Plattform für Citizen Science Apps