The EDU-ARCTIC publication CITIZEN SCIENCE INITIATIVE FOR SCHOOLS: EDU-ARCTIC MONITORING OF METEOROLOGICAL AND PHENOLOGICAL PARAMETERS was presented on 2nd July at the 11^th EDU-LEARN Conference in Spain.

Citizen science is sometimes described as "public participation in scientific research," or participatory monitoring. Such initiatives help to bring research into, for example, the classroom and engage pupils in well-structured observations of nature in their vicinity. The learning and practising of observation may increase the understanding of complex conditions occurring in nature, related to biology, ecology,ecosystems functioning, physics, atmospheric chemistry etc. For school curricula and motivation ofpupils, practical hands-on activities performed by school pupils themselves by using their own sensesstimulate faster learning and cognition. For this, the EDU-ARCTIC project developed the MonitoringSystem. All schools in Europe are invited to participate in a meteorological and phenologicalobservation system in the schools’ surroundings, to report these observations on the web-portal and tohave access to all the accumulated data. The schools and pupils become part of a larger citizen effortto gain a holistic understanding of global environmental issues. The students may learn to act asscientific eyes and ears in the field. No special equipment is needed. Reporting of observations shouldbe made once a week in the Monitoring System through the EDU–ARCTIC web-portal or theaccompanying mobile app. A manual and a field guide on how to conduct observations and report areavailable through the web. Teachers may download reports containing gathered information and usethem for a wide variety of subjects, including biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics.

Full paper attached