Through Action C2, led by CSIC-IBB with the participation of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona (MCNB) and the Association Flora Catalana, LIFE medCLIFFS has set up two participatory citizen science networks: the Observers’ Network and the Volunteers’ Network.
The ultimate goal of these two networks is twofold:
- To raise public awareness of the need to get involved in the conservation of the natural environment, as well as to educate and inform about which non-native species grow on our coastline and what problems they cause after they become invasive.
- To obtain quality data, non-existent before the start of the project, on the presence and ecology of non-native flora species (invasive and potentially invasive) naturalised in the 1240 habitat of the Costa Brava and Cap de Creus, which can be used to model the risk of invasion of each species.
LIFE medCLIFFS OBSERVERS’ NETWORK
The aim of this network is to engage the general public in the conservation of the natural environment through the online registration of a minimum of 600 observations/year of the invasive and potentially invasive non-native flora present in the coastal habitats of the Costa Brava and Cap de Creus.
To this end, a specific project within the iNaturalits platform called LIFE medCLIFFS – Observers Network has been created. This iNaturalist project covers the coastal area of the Costa Brava and Cap de Creus and around 180 potentially observable non-native plant species.
Participation in the network is completely free and does not imply any commitment of permanence. All data recorded within the scope of the project are reviewed and validated by experts from CSIC-IBB and MCNB. In this way, all observations become part of the GBIF network of global biodiversity data.
Fancy joining the LIFE medCLIFFS Observer Network? Find out more here
LIFE medCLIFFS VOLUNTEER NETWORK
The aim of this network is to train at least 200 people in the identification and monitoring of invasive flora in order to collect quality data on the ecology and phenology of around thirty selected invasive and potentially invasive non-native species present on the Costa Brava and Cap de Creus.
The monitoring is carried out on a hundred stretches of coastline (transects) where the priority is to collect data on the abundance, distribution and phenology of invasive plants, also using the iNaturalist platform. These stretches have been defined along the Costa Brava, following the coastal paths.
Anyone with a minimum knowledge of flora can participate by “adopting” one or more transects. The commitment to participate is to carry out periodic monitoring of the adopted transects. For this purpose, LIFE medCLIFFS provides participants with a specific training course on coastal invasive flora, support materials and several field trips free of charge.
The LIFE medCLIFFS Volunteer Network is managed through the website of the Association Flora Catalana, where you can fill in the form to become a volunteer free of charge.
An annual LIFE medCLIFFS Volunteering Meeting is held to exchange knowledge and to highlight the use of all data collected by the participants.
1st LIFE medCLIFFS Volunteering Meeting- IBB 2023
2nd LIFE medCLIFFS Volunteering Meeting – Scheduled for November 2024
3rd LIFE medCLIFFS Volunteer Meeting – 2025
Fancy joining the LIFE medCLIFFS Volunteer Network? Find out more here
