Apps

Anyone with a passion for nature, photography, and the protection of our planet can be a naturalist. The NatureSpots App enables nature lovers, biodiversity enthusiast, nature conservation activists and everyone else interested in wildlife and natural habitats to share animal, plant or fungi observations and habitat discoveries on their adventures. Once you start you won't be able to stop - suddenly you'll know more plants, mushrooms and animals than ever before. You'll explore new habitats with your smartphone and reveal secret worlds. You'll make discoveries and get to know your surroundings better. The NatureSpots App is your companion on travels, walks, hikes, and your diary about your nature sightings.

At the Spot-a-Bee Citizen Science project, the researchers of Cardiff University and the University of Glasgow, UK want to find out what plants, trees and shrubs are important for bees in city and town parks and gardens. People can help survey bee-friendly plants towns, cities and villages! If you spot a bee, use your mobile to take a picture of the plants they’re buzzing around and upload the spot in the Citizen Science app. Explore the fascinating world of bees with Citizen Science The Spot-A-Bee app allows you to observe and document any flowers, shrubs, climbers or trees and the bees on them. Additionally, it contains useful information on those plants and the most common bee species in the UK.As a bonus, the researches behind Spot-A-Bee also want to understand how planting in urban spaces might affect the production of urban honey.

With the CrowdWater Citizen Science app, you can observe rivers and collect hydrological data, including water level, streamflow and soil moisture data, as well as data about the dynamics of temporary streams, plastic pollution and general stream type data. Better predicting of floods and droughts with Citizen Science The project does not only look at the possibilities of collecting data but also at the value of this data for hydrological forecasts. The goal is to develop a cheap and easy data collection method that can be used to predict floods and low flow or droughts. The long-term aim of the project is to complement existing gauging station networks, especially in regions with a sparse measurement network, such as in developing countries.      

CoastSnap is a global citizen science project to capture our changing coastlines. No matter where you are in the world, if you have a smartphone and an interest in the coast, we welcome you to participate! CoastSnap relies on repeat photos at the same location to track how the coast is changing over time due to processes such as storms, rising sea levels, human activities and other factors. Snap a photo of a coast near you in the app! Using a specialised technique known as photogrammetry, CoastSnap turns your photos into valuable coastal data that is used by coastal scientists to understand and forecast how coastlines might change in the coming decades. Photogrammetry enables the position of the coastline to be pinpointed from your snaps to an accuracy similar to that of professional coastal survey teams. All we ask is that you take the photos at the same location (by using one of our official CoastSnap camera cradles or a do-it-yourself adaptation) and record the precise photo time in the App. The more photos we have of a particular site, the better our understanding becomes of how that coastline is changing over time.

Pilzfinder is the web-app of the mycology research society of the University of Vienna. In the browser-based project, you can contribute mushroom observations from all across Europe and get feedback from the expert of the Austrian Mycology Society. By joining this Citizen Science project, you can help with the science behind fungi and learn more about the fascinating world of mushrooms.

In the Tea Bag Index Citizen Science App, everything is about soil. Various observation categories are ready to participate in, from easy soil classification and testing to the well-known method of burying and weighting teabags to measure the decay rate of plants. Citizen Scientists are welcome to participate worldwide and contribute to improving climate models and soil research. Drinking tea for the climate The Tea Bag Index (TBI) collects data on soil observations and in particular on the dynamics of soil decomposition. The degradation of organic matter in the soil is part of the global carbon cycle, which provides information about the biological activity of the soil and is therefore important for climate change. Changes in carbon content in soil can both exacerbate and mitigate climate change.

Coastal areas are in constant evolution, climate change will impact where and how humans live. In times of the imminent climate crisis, the coastline will change dramatically, and extreme weather phenomena are already starting to be part of our daily life. Citizens monitoring weather and water The Coastal Observer Citizen Science project explores these effects and their impact on the environment and our mood. The Coastal Observer App encourages citizens to become active in monitoring weather and water locally, and will help researchers build a pathway for a sustainable future. By contributing observations about floods, tides storms and water quality, you can help the University of Delaware, US, with their research.

We, humans, are capable of dramatically altering the landscape. Cities are a familiar and extreme example of this change. Intriguingly, some animals can adapt to these changing environments by flexibly changing their behaviour. The project focuses on five bird species that have done so successfully: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Australian Brush-turkey, Australian White Ibis, Little Corella, and Long-billed Corella. Additional species can be reported by selecting “other.” Birds adapting to change in our cities The five focal species have all been observed adapting to human-modified areas , and are increasing their population in urban areas. Occasionally they are considered a nuisance, yet they are all Australian native birds that are doing their best to survive in human-altered landscapes. The data collected will help scientists understand these species’ behaviour, movement, reproduction, distribution, and habitat use in suburban areas. We aim to use this information to help understand the behavioural traits that have allowed some species to adapt to the challenges and opportunities of city living.

With "Crows in the zoo" you can observe the species and subspecies of crows and how they interact with the animals at the Vienna Zoo. Observe and find out how clever these birds are and how quickly they learn! Observe different crow species and see how quickly they learn with Citizen Science! The aim is to actively involve zoo visitors and citizen scientists in the research activities of the University of Vienna (Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology together with the Konrad Lorenz Research Center) to monitor different crow species and individual crows’ behaviour in the zoo. These observations shall allow scientists to understand better the ecological factors determining their group dynamics.The observations will also provide insights on the influence of ecological factors (e.g. food availability or presence of zoo animals) on their social behaviour.While a particular focus lies to the area of the Zoo Vienna, observations from elsewhere in and around Vienna are welcome.

Suriname's lush forests are home to a plethora of unique flora and animals. Despite this abundance, there is still a lack of a unified system that consolidates all critical information in a single, easily accessible location. This is where the Green Growth Wildlife app comes in, providing a complete platform for collecting vital information that will help map and understand the health of Suriname's biodiversity. A Citizen Science App to Map Suriname's Abundant Wildlife The aim for the future is to build an engaged community of Citizen Scientists who will act as the eyes and ears of our 93 percent wooded Suriname by routinely updating the app with their observations, thus giving scientists a complete view of Suriname's wildlife. These data will help Suriname's policymakers manage biodiversity sustainably.

With the MAKENYA - Mammal Atlas Kenya App, you can discover and contribute to the fascinating world of Kenyan Mammals. Explore about 390 mammal species throughout Kenya and get involved in the first Kenyan Mammal Monitoring App. Share your photographs or observations with a community of animal lovers, researchers, scientists, and citizens to help understand the world of mammals. Are you ready for adventure? Anybody can be a naturalist! Kenya is one of Africa's most important countries when it comes to biodiversity. Since mammal species occur everywhere, in the air, on land, in water, and underground, in and outside protected areas - anybody with a passion for nature can be a naturalist. Whether if you are on an expedition, or a nature photographer, or an animal lover. Every record of mammal species submitted to MAKENYA is useful data that can help understand the world of mammals and save species in the long run.

The BRUSHTURKEYS app is all about Australian Brushturkeys extending their natural habitat, which usually includes rainforests and woodlands, to suburban areas. The brushturkey is a fascinating bird for Citizens and Scientists alike. Once a rare species due to overhunting, the Australian Brush-turkey is now commonly found in urban areas on Australia’s east coast. They are large birds with a wingspan of about 85 cm, black feathers and a red head. The males build huge nest mounds on the ground out of leaves, twigs, and other compostable material, which are then visited by local females, for mating and egg-laying.With the app, you can gather sightings on the Australian Brush-turkey and observe their behaviour. Your observations help to understand better how these birds adapt to their surroundings.

Soils for Science (S4S) is a citizen science initiative of The University of Queensland, Institute for Molecular Bioscience. S4S aims to inform the public on the importance of antibiotic resistance in modern healthcare, and soil microbes as a source of next generation antibiotics. S4S provides the public with free sampling kits (visit soilsforscience.org.au) to collect soil samples rich in microbial biodiversity (bacteria and fungi). Pure microbes will be isolated by UQ researchers and used as a resource to search for new and improved antibiotics. High resolution images of the microbial communities found in each soil sample will be uploaded to the S4S website, where the public can find their own sample(s), to zoom in and view the marvellous and miniature world of microbes. The need for antibiotics and Citizen Science The antibiotics revolution that began early last century with the discovery of penicillin heralded a golden age in healthcare. With the emergence of modern antibiotics, for the first time in human history, infectious diseases were no longer a death sentence. In the decades that followed microbe-inspired antibiotics sparked a revolution in global science, healthcare and commerce, raising the quality of life, and life expectancy of millions (even billions) of people worldwide. Sadly, in recent years the protection offered by modern antibiotics has waned and, with very few new antibiotics coming to market, and escalating levels of antibiotic resistance, the handful of vintage antibiotics that remain are struggling to provide the level of infection control that the public have come to expect. Antibiotic resistance and an inability to effectively manage infectious diseases have been identified as one of the biggest public health challenges of our time. Fungal infection. Globally, over 300 million people are infected with a serious fungal infection, 25 million are at high risk of dying, 1.6-2.5 million die…

With HydroCrowd, Citizen Scientists can make a real impact by monitoring rainfall and other hydro-climatic data in Ecuador, Honduras, and Tanzania. No need to be a weather expert—just grab the app and get ready to dive into the world of water!

"Forschen im Almtal" is the app for a Citizen Science project of the University of Vienna in collaboration with the wildlife park in Grünau in Austria's Almtal. Visitors of the Wildlife park can become Citizen Scientists and observe three bird species (grey goose, raven and northern bald ibis) and help collect data on their behaviour in the Citizen Science App 'Forschen im Almtal'. Learning more about bird behaviour This project aims to monitor these three bird species, to find out when and where which animals can be found. Do they have preferences for specific places within the wildlife park, or do they prefer the company of fellow birds? The free-flying birds in the Cumberland Wildlife Park are individually marked (leg rings, wing markings), making recognizing individual birds easy for everybody!

WaldrApp is a Citizen Science project from the University of Vienna aiming to collect ecologic Information on the whereabouts of "Waldrapps" (English: northern bald ibis). Since these birds are an endangered species, the data collected through the app can help gain essential data for future settling projects. Feel free to join and contribute to this citizen observatory! Citizen Scientists are spotting an endagered bird species The northern bald ibis choose their feeding areas according to different characteristics: areas that are a long way away from roads, houses and trees and those with short vegetation are preferred. In addition, resource availability, as well as local loyalty and the formation of traditions play a role. With the help of interested citizens, this information should now be collected via the WaldrApp app.

Fridays for Future sees itself as a horizontal, grassroots movement that acts impartially and refers to science for the facts. To engage the global population more, this app was developed using SPOTTERON. The aim is to find out how the climate crisis is perceived by the population and which positive and negative emotions are associated with certain topics related to the biodiversity and climate crisis.The users should learn more about the climate crisis and at the same time be able to make a small contribution to climate protection. With the app, Fridays for Future wants to bring people closer to the climate crisis in everyday life in order to emphasize certain factors more consciously. At the same time, the app is intended to integrate everyone with the help of the Citizen Science project (SPOTTERON) by allowing the user to document what he/she notices about the climate crisis in the most accessible way possible. It is important that not only the negative aspects are noted, but that positive events also flow into the project. With this app you can upload material on the topics of "nature", "green energy", "public transport" and "other positive influences", among other things. The negative aspects are addressed with the topics of "construction", "road traffic", "environmental destruction" and "other negative influences". Then, on a scale of 1 to 5, the extent to which this has an impact on the climate crisis should be assessed.This data is used anonymously by a wide variety of scientists to better understand the climate crisis and the associated changes. The users should learn more about the climate crisis and at the same time be able to make a small contribution to climate protection.

Share your landscape! Explore mountainous landscapes all over Europe. MTA - MountainApp wants to inspire people to immerse themselves in landscapes. MTA - MountainApp is a project jointly run by researchers from Switzerland and Georgia. MTA - MountainApp was developed for a transnational research seminar taught at the University of Zurich and the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. The app is used to facilitate cross-border student collaboration and learning and to introduce students to sustainable mountain development through the lens of the Alpine and Caucasus mountains. Mountain App is interested in learning more about places and landscapes people visit and experience in their everyday lives. By collecting this data, we want to better understand people’s relationships to different kinds of landscapes and landscape elements. With a focus on these relationships, the project aims to analyze values and meanings attached to landscapes and wants to draw attention to contemporary challenges of mountainous regions and bring people living in these areas closer together. Fun fact: “Mta” is the Georgian term for “mountain”!