Current projects

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…

Do you love diving or snorkeling? Then become part of marine research! Octopus Intelligence invites you to observe wild octopuses in the Northern Adriatic Sea and document your sightings. Every observation helps to learn more about these fascinating animals and their habitat.  What are the aims of the project? The…

A OneWelfare approach studying food vulnerability.  The project "COwWEL" examines, together with citizen scientists from socio-economically disadvantaged groups, conditions that promote or hinder healthy and sustainable consumption behaviour in these groups, taking into account attitudes toward animals and their welfare. The goal is to develop strategies and information material to…

Smart Movement Analysis for Knee Osteoarthritis ACCESS investigates how knee osteoarthritis affects movement — directly in physiotherapy practices using modern 3D movement-analysis technology. Patients and physiotherapists collaborate with researchers to gain new insights for better treatment. What are the aims of the project? ACCESS investigates how knee osteoarthritis affects everyday…

Since 1851, we have been researching the changes in weather, climate and nature and what this means for us humans by observing plants and animals. These phenological observations help, for example, in climate research, agriculture and pollen forecasting in order to better deal with climate change. What are the aims…

In the PolliDiversity project, students explore flowering areas and observe pollinating insects like wild bees. Using digital tools, they collect scientific data and learn how to protect and experience biodiversity. What are the aims of the project? In the PolliDiversity project, students investigate the development of flowering areas using the…

Since 2008, the Institute of Silviculture at BOKU University, Vienna, has been analyzing the occurrence, distribution, causes and characteristics of forest fires in Austria as part of various research projects. The data series spans several decades and includes around 8000 fires, of which around 7000 are forest fires. The last…

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 at "Vetmeduni" Vienna. The goal is the "Come Back" of the big owl into the forests of Austria. A new occurrence in the alps…

Counselling centres for women* are important institutions that have been founded since the 1980s by the second women's movement. In the project, researchers are conducting research together with counsellors and clients of Viennese women's* counselling centres. We are interested in the life stories of women* who seek help at counselling…

Every observation counts! The City Nature Challenge (short: CNC) is an annual nature competition between regions that takes place in spring (usually at the end of April, beginning of May) and is held simultaneously in various cities and regions worldwide. On four consecutive days, people around the world document the…

Monitoring of Amphibians and Reptiles in Austrian Gardens The BIOM-Garten project invites people of all ages to look out for amphibians and reptiles in their gardens and report their observations. This will help to fill gaps in existing monitoring and implement better conservation measures for these endangered animals. What are…

For our national tick monitoring programme, we invite you to provide us with ticks. Your samples will help us analyse which tick species appear when and where in Austria. Moreover, ticks will also be investigated for the presence of pathogens. What are the aims of the project? The goal of…

CrowdWater is a hydrological citizen science project of the University of Zurich. CrowdWater uses an app to collect data about water. No prior knowledge is required to participate. What is the project about? CrowdWater stands for independent and reliable data collection by anyone with an interest in water. The observations collected…

Overview You can tell by its name: The forest dormouse (Dryomys nitedula) is a characteristic species for deciduous and mixed forests. It belongs to the dormouse family and its survival is inextricably linked with forest habitats. The forest dormouse is protected throughout Europe, but data on its distribution is largely…

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! The project works specifically in urban areas. With the help…

Biodiversity and ecology of freshwater bacteria The bacterial genus Aquirufa, which was discovered and scientifically described in cooperation with pupils, is the eponym and focus of the research project. The aim is to research the ecology, biodiversity and distribution of Aquirufa in water bodies through the active and creative participation…

Breaking the blame game:  COwLEARNING for sustainable beef and dairy supply  Our society faces grand challenges, such as mitigating climate change and adapting to its consequences, ensuring a healthy diet and maintaining cultural landscapes with high biodiversity. A sustainable agri-food industry addresses these challenges.  In Austria, with its high share…

Mosquito Alert is a citizen science project that allows tiger mosquitoes and other mosquitoes to be easily reported using a free app. Tiger mosquitoes are always smaller than a 1-cent coin, have a single white line on the back of the head and thoraxand white stripes on the body and legs.…

Language is one of the most important means of human communication, an essential part of our culture and it can also fulfill an identity-forming function. At the same time, it is constantly changing with the society that uses it. There are words that were used a century ago, but that…

The project Pilzdaten-Austria.eu 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 of fungi or hold collections of fungal specimens, coordinated…

Giving a voice to children and adolescents: Co-research with children and adolescents in developing a model of health literacy Background Health literacy is crucial for promoting health and well-being It encompasses finding, understanding, evaluating, and applying health information and services to make informed decisions for maintaining or improving health and…

Many people in Austria feel that colorful butterflies are becoming increasingly rare. Unfortunately, this is also reflected in the European Grassland Butterfly Index, compiled by Butterfly Conservation Europe from datasets across the continent. Since 1990, typical grassland butterflies have declined by 36%. Since butterfly populations naturally fluctuate from year to…

Spring habitats in the Großes Walsertal Biosphere Reserve In view of increasing extreme weather events, including periods of drought and consequent water shortages, the protection and knowledge of springs in the Großes Walsertal Biosphere Reserve is becoming increasingly important. In addition to their essential role in water supply, springs are…

What can we do to protect our wetlands and floodplains in Europe? What does the water management need to implement measure for the benefit of both the environment and the human society? The Horizon Europe project Restore4Life aims at offering an online system that supports the restoration of wetlands in Europe. One…

Plastic Pirates - Go Europe! A Citizen Science Initiative to investigate plastic pollution along rivers The pollution of beaches and riverbanks in Europe with plastic waste does not stop at borders. Preventing micro- and macroplastics in the environment, addressing this challenge scientifically and researching sustainable materials are therefore tasks we…

The TRA:WELL project focuses on the relationship between active mobility (walking, cycling, scooters) and the well-being of young people. The entire physical activity behaviour is considered in order to assess the contribution of active forms of mobility to the fulfilment of physical activity recommendations. What are the aims of the…

Innovation to strengthen the Austrian fresh vegetable supply Market garden centres work according to so-called bio-intensive methods. This means utilising the maximum possible natural yield potential on the land. This yield potential results from the respective location, the climatic conditions (temperature, precipitation, wind, etc.), the production methods and, to a…

Monitoring of Soilbiota by Citizen Science SoilRise is a research project on earthworm biodiversity in Europe. Earthworms play a crucial role in soil fertility and are considered important ecosystem engineers. With your help we like to collect data on the distribution and diversity of earthworms in Europe. But SoilRise is…

DANUBE4all is an EU project with the main task of developing a comprehensive action plan for the renaturation of river stretches in the Danube River Basin (DRB). To this end, a collaborative stakeholder process is being developed that actively incorporates the interests of citizens. The action plan is intended to…

State-of-the-art DNA technology and citizen science - "Frog in a drop of water" unleashes new prospects for amphibian research Detective work for amphibian protection - for the first time, amphibian screening is being carried out throughout Austria by detecting their DNA traces in water - and everyone can take part.…

The Pollen Diary was launched back in 2009 as a scientific project as part of a master's thesis at the WU Vienna Executive Academy. 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,…

The lack of sustainability in human activity is leading to the global destabilisation of our natural systems. The resulting biodiversity and climate crises require a transformation to an environmentally sustainable society. However, the expertise in the field of taxonomy required for this transformation is often only shared by a few…

The sourdough microbiome Attention sourdough bakers and fermentation enthusiasts - HealthFerm is researching plant-based and fermented foods you eat and raise in your home! Fermented foods are present both in our daily diet and in various food cultures: from sourdough bread to beer, wine, pickles, sauerkraut, miso, kombucha, and much…

Better governance of ecosystem services at local scales in the Wienerwald region  A joint research project of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) and the University of Vienna.   What is ServeToPe studying and what are its goals? Society uses a variety of services that natural…

What are Urban Heat Stories? It will get hotter and hotter in the city over the next few years. The impact of heat can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood. It depends not only on the building density or the degree of sealing in the city, but also on the…

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…

The CAMALIOT (Application of Machine Learning Technology for GNSS IoT Data Fusion) project The CAMALIOT project integrates data from the Internet of Things (IoT), including smartphones, and traditional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data sources to leverage Big Data, Data Fusion and Machine Learning technologies to to demonstrate how these data can be used in different scientific…

In Viel-Falter: Butterfly Monitoring volunteers, together with researchers from the Department of Ecology of the University of Innsbruck, observe, identify and count butterflies. The aim is to build up and establish an Austria-wide systematic butterfly monitoring. Butterflies are an excellent indicator group for the ecologically extremely important animal group of insects.…

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 geographical and chronological distribution of fossils in Austria is…

It is an open secret that hardware operating on our smart devices contains not only plastic, but also conflict materials such as tungsten, tin, tantulum and gold. Technology is therefore not neutral. These resources are mined in conflict regions, assembled to electric circuits under harmful labour conditions and mostly ending up…

What is the project about? The crowdsourcing project "Viennese playbills 1930-1939" is about the metadata capture of the playbills from the holdings of the Vienna City Library from this period. Previously only organized by theater and not indexed individually, during the project these valuable historical sources will become recorded individually and thus discoverable for…

What is the project about? The crowdsourcing project "Letters 1914-1919" is about the transcription of the unique letter collection of the Vienna City Library from this period. In contrast to historical printed works, which are now subjected to automatic full-text recognition as standard, this is still not so easy to…

From alpine crested newt to sand lizard - gardening enthusiasts report please Private gardens not only provide a place of peace and relaxation for humans but can also serve as important habitats and stepping stones for many animal and plant species. Especially the two endangered species groups of amphibians and…

We take care of our meadows and alpine pastures! For more than a decade, hundreds of farmers have been saying "We look at our meadows and alpine pastures!". The regular observations of the more than 700 participants impressively show that on more than 80 % of the monitoring plots in…

Flexibilisation of WF-mowing dates according to the phenological model  The ÖPUL-measure Nature Conservation results in farmers usually having an agreement on a fixed mowing date. Due to the ongoing climate change, vegetation development fluctuates more and more especially during spring and early summer. Therefore, it was proposed to expand the…

Archaeological finds of textile remains give an insight into ancient weaving techniques, including fabrics from the Hallstatt salt mine dating from between 1500 and 300 BC, or finds of gold threads such as those from Ebreichsdorf in Lower Austria, ca. 1100 BC. They are scientifically analysed and reworked in the…

"Crows in the zoo" is a Citizen Science project of the Department for Behavioral and Cognitive Biology of the University of Vienna in cooperation with the Konrad Lorenz Research Center and the Zoo Vienna. The researchers aim to find out more about the species and subspecies of crows that use the…

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 at the Natural History…

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…