Wondering what the next steps are for the project? We are currently starting up the development of the platform and the designing of the logo. In spring, we will start mapping existing initiatives and reaching out to projects to be a part of the platform. A first version of the platform will be launched in June. Until then, you find all the information on the project through our current website www.citizens4water.org.

3 - 5 June, the CitizenScience4Water conference takes place in Delft, the Netherlands. Scivil will be attending this conference and presenting the Citizens4Water project there. Registrations for the conference have opened today, the full programme is coming soon. Hope to see you there!

We have gathered feedback and ideas from the community on different occassions so far. However, ideas are of course still welcome. Feel free to open up the padlet board below, to share any thoughts you might have on this project and the platform that is being developed.

The Plastic Pirates initiative tackles plastic pollution working together with schools. The project started in Germany and has subsequently been rolled out all over Europe and beyond over the past five years. This guest blog describes how the project is taking place in Belgium, run by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ).

The CrowdWater project is investigating how the public can be involved in the collection of hydrological data, as well as what value the collected data can have for hydrological forecasts. The long-term goal of the project is to collect a large number of observations and thus improve the prediction of hydrological events such as drought or flooding. The CrowdWater app has recently been extended to allow for observation of lakes.

This newsletter is an open platform for all in the citizen science & water community.

Are you working on a project and do you have news to share, would you like to write a guest blog or do you have any exciting events coming up? Let us know through the form in the link below, and your project might be featured in our next newsletter!

IMPETUS has opened two interesting calls for citizen science projects.

• European Union Prize for Citizen Science 2025
  Apply for this prestigious prize for a chance to receive the Grand Prize (€60.000), the Diversity & Collaboration award (€20.000) or the Digital Communities award (€20.000). Additionally, 27 projects witll receive honorary mentions
• Accelerator Programme for citizen science projects
  New projects can receive a kickstarting grant of €20.000 for mentoring and training support to establish their initiative. Ongoing projects can apply for a sustaining grant of €10.000.

The ECSA (European Citizen Science Association) has a number of working groups on a wide range of different topics, including a group on Aquatic Ecosystems. This working group aims to strengthen and consolidate the citizen science practitioner community in aquatic citizen science by promoting networking, creation of common standards, and leveraging citizen science data to support policy level initiatives. The group comes together online on a regular basis. Membership is open to all members of ECSA.

The conference will bring current Citizen Science research and initiatives into light and highlight the OTTERS project’s contribution to the field over the past three years.

In June, the inaugural Citizen Science 4 Water conference will take place in Delft, The Netherlands. The conference will focus on the crucial role citizen science plays within water resource monitoring, management and governance as well as community-led actions.