From idea to impact: successful citizen science in Belgium - Scivil

13:00 - Introduction to citizen science

14:00 - From idea to impact: project presentations and panel discussion

• 5 years of Scivil - Annelies Duerinckx
• Telraam / Rear Window - Kris Vanherle
• Vierkante meter / Square meter - Arne De Graeve
• Plastic Pirates Belgium - Ana Catarino
• Isala - Leonore Vander Donck

Many thanks to our moderator Magali Minet!

Kris Vanherle is a biochemical engineer and holds a master degree in environmental sciences. Kris has broad expertise in the environmental aspects of transport and stemming from his interest in this subject he co-developed the citizen science project 'Telraam'. Within the 'Telraam‘-project, they developed an integrated application based on low-cost hardware and a public online platform allowing citizens to perform traffic counts. Meanwhile, Telraam is active in many locations.

Dr Ana Isabel Catarino is a Senior Researcher at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ, Belgium), an interdisciplinary institution collaborating closely with academia, policymakers, educators, and the public in marine sciences. She currently leads the research team on Plastics in Local and Global Waters, exploring the impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems. Her research primarily investigates the combined effects of human activities on aquatic organisms, such as microplastics and climate change stressors. Dr Catarino is also engaged in citizen science initiatives, and leads the projects Plastic Pirates-Belgium and COLLECT, to raise public awareness on plastic pollution. She tweets at @Zebrazuli.

Leonore Vander Donck is a doctoral student at the University of Antwerp, where she's conducting research as part of the Isala project. Her focus is on examining the impact of hygiene habits, particularly menstrual products, on the vaginal microbiome. The Isala project, a substantial citizen project involving over 3,000 women in Belgium, involves participants collecting samples and providing extensive information about their health and lifestyle. But this was just the beginning. Isala now has numerous sister and subsidiary projects around the world.

Have you ever wanted to travel into the past like Indiana Jones? Yes you can! During the project "Square Meter: Everybody can be an Archaeologist."; the residents of Ruien (municipality of Kluisbergen) were invited to make small test pits either in their gardens or in public areas. A community went in search for a shared  past. Throughout the project, participants unearthed nearly 800 archaeological objects, ranging from a Neolithic flint axe to Chinese porcelain. And there was also a social benefit: excavating and studying all these finds brought the people of Ruien closer together.  After all, is there anything more fun than traveling through time together?
The project 'Square Meter: Everybody can be an Archaeologist' is part of the project "m²: Heritage Participation as an engine for strengthening social cohesion" launched by Solva in the summer of 2023.