On 1 April, the Citizen Science Award has started: pupils, entire school classes and all interested individuals can participate in a total of eight research projects from the fields of natural sciences, humanities and social sciences using analogue and digital possibilities until 9 July. A special focus is on the monitoring of various natural phenomena, such as extreme weather events, animal and plant species in (high) alpine regions, flowering plants right on your doorstep, the most popular forage plants for honey bees and wild bees and Mesozoic fossils. In addition, social connectedness in the school classroom and youth languages and dialects in Austria can be researched and digital teaching materials on the topic of "bionics" can be co-developed.
The research projects benefit from the involvement of citizen scientists, who often have particular specialised knowledge, and from the participation of schools interested in research, in that they can generate a wealth of new data and research contributions.
The most committed citizen scientists will be awarded cash and non-cash prizes of up to 2,000 euros at a ceremony in autumn.