What is Citizen Science and what has it to do with INSIGNIA?
Kristina Gratzer from the University of Graz explains in a mini-interview (German). More videos will follow.
English translation:
Helmut: “Dear Kristina, what does citizen science mean?”
Kristina: “Very briefly, citizen science includes scientific projects that are either carried out completely or, in our case, with the help of laypersons.”
Helmut: “You conduct bee science… Have you experience with citizen science?”
Kristina: “Yes. Currently, we are working in a European Union project called Insignia. There, 82 beekeepers from 10 European countries bi-weekly have taken samples from their own bee colonies, Those samples were processed and further analysed for pesticides and pollen diversity in labs in Spain, Greece and Portugal. Just imagine, doing such large-scale sampling all by yourself and without the volunteers, this would be quite difficult and takes a lot of time.”
Helmut: “That means citizens are able to support science?”
Kristina: “Yes absolutely and the co-working is also enriching.”
By Kristina Gratzer