Document butterflies through July 31 and win prizes!

Peacock, swallowtail, small blue and others: anyone who spots these butterfly species during hikes, walks and excursions in the final weeks of term and the first weeks of the holidays can contribute directly to butterfly research with their observations: The Citizen Science Award project “Schmetterlingen auf der Spur” invites interested citizen scientists aged seven and over from across Austria to document butterflies with photos and report them via the “naturbeobachtung.at” platform. The aim is not only to document as many butterflies in Austria as possible, but also to find particularly rare and endangered species. Researchers will use this data to compile a “Red List of Butterflies in Austria”. In this way, committed citizens can contribute to biodiversity research and species conservation.

School classes, youth groups, families and individuals can still take part in the research until 31 July. Their efforts will be rewarded: school classes and youth groups can win up to 1,000 euros, whilst families and individuals will receive attractive non-cash prizes. The prizes will be awarded on 17 November during the 5th Young Science Congress at TU Wien.