Creative Approaches to Citizen Science: Drawing Contest on Hedgehog Conservation and Road Ecology

The competition combines creative participation with a current field of research in urban ecology. Participants explore issues related to biodiversity, habitat fragmentation, and the impacts of traffic, and develop their own proposals for hedgehog-friendly infrastructure. This creates a participatory approach to research topics that actively involves people without a scientific background.

For researchers, the format offers an interesting example of how citizen science projects can expand reach, visibility, and public engagement. Creative competitions not only facilitate science communication but also promote reflection, identification with the research topic, and intergenerational participation—for instance, when families develop entries together.

The underlying citizen science project has been documenting roadkill among wild animals in Austria for several years. The data collected by volunteers helps researchers identify spatial hotspots and further develop evidence-based conservation measures.

Participation in the competition is open exclusively in Lower Austria until October 31, 2026. Both analog and digital drawings may be submitted; AI-generated images are excluded. In addition to prizes, selected entries will be presented publicly.

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