Current projects
Fossilfinder
- geology
Due to the enormous request and the multitude of consignments of fossil images encompassing almost the entire Earth history, the precise issues and the resulting project target were adapted in accordance to the requirements and wishes oft he citizen scientists. The stratigraphical window was adjusted and expanded on the entire…
weaving techniques
- culture
In the Hallstatt salt mine there are numerous textile remains from the period between 1500 and 300 BC, which provide an insight into ancient weaving techniques. They are scientifically analysed and reworked in the Prehistoric Department of the Natural History Museum in order to understand the manufacturing technique and the…
Schmetterlinge Österreichs: an app for scientifically recording Austria's butterflies On behalf of Blühendes Österreich, a charitable foundation of REWE International AG and the environmental NGO GLOBAL 2000, butterfly expert Peter Huemer published a report on the dramatic state of butterflies in May 2016. In Europe, their number had halved since…
Wettermelden.at / Trusted Spotter Network Austria
- wetter
- katastrophen
Many weather phenomena as well as their impacts and damage on the ground are reported in real time or immediately after the event by means of weather reports. Within the framework of the Trusted Spotter Network Austria, all reporters can be trained to become particularly trustworthy observers. All weather and…
Vienna Kestrel
- animals
The kestrel is the most common raptor in the city of Vienna. Since 2010, the "Vienna Kestrel Project" has been investigating how these falcons have adapted to city life. A key component of our research is knowledge about nest locations which allow us to access broods for further investigation. The…
Picture Pile
- Landnutzung
What is this project about? With Picture Pile you can contribute to solving global problems as climate chance and malnutrition by sorting piles of pictures together with other players. How can citizens participate in research? Sorting the pictures is very easy and works in a similar way to other Apps.…
GEO Wiki
- land use
On Geo-Wiki.org you can participate in global environmental monitoring and help to observe and document the earth and what happens on it on a large scale. Whether it is deforestation, the varying size of fields in agriculture or the fast and precise evaluation of hurricane damage - your contribution is…
Crowdwater
- weather
- land use
CrowdWater is a hydrological citizen science project. Everybody with an interest in water can contribute and collect hydrological data in a simple way. The collected data is used to model floods and droughts as well as to supplement existing measurements. It is a main goal of CrowdWater to be applied…
GenTeam
- history
- culture
GenTeam - The European genealogy database "Connecting genealogists" GenTeam is a European platform of genealogical databases. Both scientists and amateur genealogists can make their data available here for free for other researchers. The cooperation of collaborators from many different countries has made it possible to compile databases that one researcher…
Pollen Diary
- plants
- weather
- health
Project description The Pollen Diary (www.pollentagebuch.at; www.pollendiary.com; Patient's Hayfever Diary) was already launched as a scientific project in 2009. Meanwhile it has become an important service for pollen allergy sufferers in 13 European countries: Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey. The…
Waterbird Census
- animals
Citizen Science with a long tradition The first water bird counts in Austria took place as early as the 1950s. In the following years, the number of counts was gradually increased, and from 1970 onwards Austria-wide surveys have been carried out. This makes the waterbird census one of the longest…
ornitho.at
- animals
Important groundwork for bird protection The association BirdLife Austria has been researching and protecting the native avifauna for over 50 years. Citizen science has always been an essential basis of this work, as BirdLife's expertise is based on decades of collecting bird records. In the past, observations were recorded on…
Breeding bird monitoring
- animals
Annual counts This advanced citizen science project requires knowledge of the common native breeding bird species and participation over several years. Twice a year, the participants count all birds seen and heard at fixed points. The total of all counts is then used to calculate population trends. The available data…
Wild Neighbours
- animals
- land use
Are swallows nesting at your house or in your stable? Have you seen a badger in the middle of town? Or do you regularly observe a kestrel in your garden? We are interested in your observations in rural settlement areas!
Ural owl
- animals
Ural owl resettlement The resettlement of the Ural owl is led by a team of researchers headed by ornithologist Richard Zink at the Austrian Ornithological Centre – Seebarn branch office (Lower Austria) at "Vetmeduni" Vienna. The goal is the "Come Back" of the big owl into the forests of Austria.…
"Pilzfinder"
- mushrooms
- food
- health
- weather
"Pilzfinder" - what it's all about Until a few decades ago, knowledge of wild edible and poisonous mushrooms was widespread. Especially the older population knew about the seasonal occurrence of the mushrooms. Finding mushrooms is a popular hobby for young and old, which is accompanied by great experience. In order…
Mycodata
- food
- fungi
Database of fungi of Austria The project "Database of fungi of Austria" aims at a comprehensive documentation of the occurrence and distribution of fungi in Austria, and to present and evaluate the available data. It is an Austria-wide cooperation of numerous mycologists, citizen scientists and institutions, which collect distribution data…
NestCams
- animals
In this project, citizen scientists can participate in a scientific project to study the breeding behaviour of greylag geese and northern bald ibises. The project is run by scientists of the Konrad Lorenz Research Center (Grünau im Almtal, Upper Austria). Since its foundation in 1973, the Konrad Lorenz Research Center…
Visitors of the Cumberland game park in Grünau im Amtal (Upper Austria) are warmly invited to use an app to enter sightings and behavioural observations of greylag geese, common ravens and northern bald ibises and thus support current research projects and the long-term monitoring of the Konrad Lorenz Research Center…
Ragweed Finder
- plants
- health
The Ragweed Finder was developed in 2017 by the Austrian Pollen Information Service at MedUni Vienna (Research Group Aerobiology and Pollen Information). The Ragweed Finder consists of four components: Specimen report Ragweed distribution map Information about Ragweed Manual to recognize ragweed Specimen report The most important data such as location,…
Interested groups (mainly school classes) can participate in this scientific project about the whereabouts of the greylag geese in the Cumberland game park in Grünau im Almtal (Upper Austria). The social behaviour of the flock of greylag geese of the Konrad Lorenz Research Center (a core facility of the University…
Tea Bag Index
- land use
Can drinking tea help us to understand climate change? Yes, but we need your help! We would like you to become our research partner and participate in one of the largest experiments on soil decomposition processes at the moment.
Herpetofauna
- animals
Amphibians and reptiles under observation in Austria Importance and evaluability of databases increase with the extent, the precision and the currency of the data stored. The Natural History Museum Vienna, one of the largest non-university research institutions in Austria, houses more than 30 million objects from the fields of biology,…
In Viel-Falter: Butterfly Monitoring volunteers, together with researchers from the Department of Ecology of the University of Innsbruck, observe, identify and count butterflies. Given the diverse habitats in Austria, around 210 different species of butterfly live here, considerably more than in the whole of Germany. At the same time, many…
German in Austria (IamDiÖ)
- language
On everyone's lips and minds – German in Austria (IamDiÖ) Project description What interests you about the German language in Austria? "On everyone's lips and minds - German in Austria" invites you to explore the diversity, change and use of all possible forms of German in Austria. Dealing with one's own…
Biodiversity monitoring by farmers
- plants
- animals
- land use
We take care of our meadows! And we take care of our alpine pastures! Since 2007, farmers from all over Austria have been observing the development of plants and animals on their meadows. The project motto "We take care of our meadows!" stands for the annual counting and documentation of…
Vielfalt bewegt! Alpenverein from young to old
- plants
- animals
Message Which animals live and which plants grow in our mountains? Within the framework of "Vielfalt bewegt! Alpenverein from young to old" the Austrian Alpine Club investigates the most elevated habitats in Austria - a project for mountain enthusiasts and everyone who wants to become one! This project overseen by…
Golden jackal
- animals
The golden jackal (Canis aureus) was not considered native in Austria, until the first golden jackal discovery was made in 1987, followed by sporadic records scattered over several federal states and in 2007 the first reproduction record was documented in the National Park "Neusiedler See-Seewinkel". Since then, rumours about camera…
An hour for winter birds
- animals
The Austria-wide winter bird count Every year, the BirdLife bird protection organisation invites all of Austria to take part in the nationwide winter bird count. All nature lovers are invited to count birds for an hour over four days until 6 January. At the same time, participants can actively contribute…
Heavy Metal City-Zen
- plants
- food
We invite urban community gardens, garden projects or similar garden initiatives to take part in this project and research alongside us. The goal of this project is to scientifically assess the potential risk of heavy metal contamination in crop plants in Vienna’s city gardens. Background Urban gardening has become increasingly…
Topotheque
- history
- culture
The growing flood of images cannot be processed by institutions alone. Partnership with citizen scientists is vital. Topotheque is a digital archive and network in which this historical legacy can be gathered. For the locally resident Topotheque users, every new image and new piece of information means a valuable building…
Fire database
- plants
- weather
- economy
- land use
- catastrophs
In the Institute of Silviculture at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, the occurrence, spread, causes and characteristics of forest fires in Austria have been analysed as part of various research projects since 2008. The array stretches back over several decades and includes approximately 5,500 fires, more…
naturbeobachtung.at
- animals
- plants
- mushrooms
At the www.naturbeobachtung.at website, all nature lovers can record sightings of both known and common, but also rare and threatened, animals and plants using a simple entry template. This asks, who, where, when, what and how many animal or plant species were seen. You have the option to add more detail to your discovery…
Mineral deposits in Austria
- geology
Mineral deposits in Austria Austria is rich in a wide range of mineral deposits. Precise documentation of both “old” deposits (e.g. mining heaps and tunnels, slag heaps) and “new” location spots (e.g. quarries, natural outcrops, road cuts, etc.) is one of the focuses of the Department of Mineralogy and Petrography…
Faces of migration
- history
- culture
- language
Faces of migration. Youth from Tyrol collaborated to research their family histories of migration Studies in social history have documented time and again that migration has always been part of the human existence. If migration movements are as old as human history itself, world history can be read as a…
Tell us!
- health
In “Tell us!”, we are looking for research questions on accidental injuries. Medical advances need innovative ideas: your knowledge is valuable! Who knows best how occupational, traffic-related or sports injuries should be investigated and treated? With “Tell us!”, the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft has started to bring questions of accidental injuries…
City-Country-Child
- history
- media
- culture
An intergenerational ethnography of images of nostalgia for the countryside Based on a unique Europe-wide photo collection at the Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art, the “City-Country-Child” research project investigated the myth of a better life in the countryside from an intergenerational perspective. Together with scientists, pupils explored…
Nan-O-Style
- health
- economy
Who is behind Nan-O-Style? Nan-O-Style is a research and education project by the University of Salzburg, Department of Biosciences. What is Nan-O-Style researching? Nan-O-Style researches the complex topic of nanotechnology. Together with Austrian schools, we want to discover new and previously unknown interactions between modern lifestyle products and nanomaterials. Are…
StadtWildTiere Vienna ("UrbanWildAnimals")
- animals
- land use
Have you ever seen a sparrow hawk in Vienna? Did a badger cross your path on your way home at night? Or do you have swallow nests at your housing complex? We are interested in your observations in Austrian cities! Understanding the city as a habitat worth living in for…
Roadkill
- animals
- land use
- traffic
This project has the option to be actively involved in a scientific project on the subject of roadkill. It collects information on which animals are killed on roads and what reasons there could be for this. The data will be used to identify hotspots and then attempt to mitigate the…
GeoMaus
- animals
The project “GeoMaus” collects information about the distribution of small mammals in Austria, Germany and in Switzerland. Nature enthusiasts are invited to report their observations to learn more about the occurrence of small mammals. Two identification keys (text key and decision tree), information on trace images and on the…
Avian malaria
- animals
- health
Reporting and collecting dead songbirds You find a dead songbird in your garden? Your cat brings home a dead bird? If you are in this situation, you can support a current research project of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Avian malaria Within the framework of the Citizen-Science project "Avian…
Citree
- plants
- land use
With the Citizen Science Project "CITREE" a crowdsourcing instrument for monitoring the growth of urban trees, will be developed and used. It builds on the "Sparkling Science" project "Woody Woodpecker", which deals with the growth, structure and function of wood. Urban trees fulfill a variety of functions, such as improving…
The “Blick ins Dickicht” project is dedicated to the search for the smallest native dormouse – the hazel dormouse. Until now, only very little has been known about this rare small animal. In order to learn more about its way of life and also how best protect it in working…
Kremser scorpion
- animals
- history
Participatory exploration of the "Kremser scorpion” (Euscorpius tergestinus) with school students "Triestino scorpion" (Euscorpius tergestinus - still listed as E. carpathicus in the Red List of NÖ), which are threatened with extinction in Lower Austria, exists as an archaeozoon in Krems. This population is an isolated north-eastern outpost of the…
The Sculptured Resin Bee
- animals
Tracing the Sculptured Resin Bee. Home of the Sculptured Resin Bee (Megachile sculpturalis Smith, 1853) is far away in Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan. In 2008, the Sculptured Resin Bee was discovered in southern France as the first translocated wild bee species in Europe. Since then, the bee has been…
Cave documentation
- geology
Karst and cave documentation The Working Group on Karst and Caves (KHA) of the Natural History Museum Vienna cooperates closely with the Speleologic Society in Vienna and Lower Austria, but also with other groups of the Austrian Speleological Association (VÖH). The Working Group on Karst and Caves is primarily active…
Virus monitoring
- food
- animals
Which are the most common bee viruses in Austria and are these viruses related to winter losses of local bee colonies? To answer these questions, 200 beekeepers from all over Austria are working as Citizen Scientists in the "virus monitoring" for three years (2018-2020). Each year in September they collect…
Categories to come
- media
- culture
- language
What is the project specifically about? So much hangs on just one thing - and yet words sometimes fail us. How do we talk about our bodies and the things that we need, want, and do when it comes to sex and sexual pleasure? And who do we talk to…
Breeding bird atlas
- Tiere
Mapping the distribution of all Austrian breeding birds in the years 2013 to 2018.. What is the Breeding bird atlas? The Breeding bird atlas shows the areas of occurrence of all bird species breeding in Austria. It is a central groundwork for bird protection: in addition to the birds’ distributions,…
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