Our project "Colorful Soil - How much plastic is hidden in our soils?" was selected for the Citizen Science Award 2023 of the OeAD (Agency for Education and Internationalization). During the co-research period from April 1 to July 31, 2023, school classes, families and individuals can participate and win: School classes up to 1,000 euros, individuals and families great material prizes.
How can you participate?
Plastic residues can be found in many places in our soils. However, little is known about what types of plastics they are and what effects they have. This is where "Citizen Scientists" can help to close these knowledge gaps: They can use the "SoilPlastic" app to record and report their plastic findings.
The app is available for mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets and as a browser app. This way, observations can be entered anywhere and at any time. The app can be used in nine languages and is used throughout Europe to obtain comparable data from different regions.
The collected data is used in the EU project MINAGRIS (Micro- and Nanoplastics in Agricultural Soils) to get an overview of the amount and type of visible plastic on soils. The Citizen Scientists thus provide an important contribution to the research project.
Participants qualify by making entries in the SoilPlastic app and completing an online questionnaire. Among these submissions, the person or group with the most entries in the co-research period will be selected. The award ceremony will take place during a festive event on October 19, 2023 at the Institute of Science and Technology (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg.
More information: Soilplastic - AGES
