19/03/2026
We participated alongside 600 researchers at the European Citizen Science Conference, .oulu
At the end of the month, and arrived in Oulu, Finland, for four days of discussion, learning, and exchange on the state and future of citizen science in Europe.
They were busy days, yes. But above all, vibrant, with nature in white all around!
We brought the European projects we are supporting, organizing events and workshops to take this practice, so widely used to help nature, a step further.
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With our CROPS partners , International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and INOVA+, we hosted two workshops to understand the most widely used and successful funding strategies for citizen science projects, and the strategies to best grow the practice in terms of time, space, and impact!
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Led by , and , we then curated a World Café, an interactive workshop to align, simplify, and build more shared ways of working with blue data, from the sea and freshwater.
Nothing theoretical: we discussed it at four different tables, and now our ideas will become a paper.
And then the nature of Finland. White and cold, muffled and unfiltered, capable of changing the pace of everything, even a conference!
We went running and playing in the snow, to regain perspective after the constructive discussions.
And that’s when it becomes clear: the outdoors isn’t just a backdrop. It’s part of the process.
It regenerates people, but also ideas. It makes you think better, work better, truly connect. And with citizen science, it also helps nature.
We return with renewed energy. With connections that matter.
And with the desire to take another step - out, together.