Citizen Science Program

The SOPHIE Citizen Science Program brought together people involved in the tourism industry to help create awareness of Oceans and Human Health issues.

The project developed new materials to enhance both ocean literacy and citizen science approaches, with a focus on the relationships between seas, oceans, health and wellbeing.

Read the full Citizen Science Final Report here for findings and recommendations.

Lead by Travelecoology and SUBMON, the Citizen Science Programme encouraged tourism operators and their clients to help build knowledge on Oceans and Human Health, while also enhancing visitor experiences.

The Programme tested whether a network of skilled ‘Tourism Agents’ can effectively contribute to monitoring areas identified in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Blue Health Survey.

Designed as a pilot, the project identified the strengths, weaknesses, and factors critical for success when launching such a network across Europe.

The research team created a list of existing tourism resources and a video series called ‘7 reasons why we should love the ocean‘, all helping to increase oceans and human health awareness amongst tourists, visitors and local communities.

Two key citizen science projects involved nearly 100 marine tourism providers across Europe, with groups in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the UK enrolling their customers and professional teams in two initiatives:

1. “Mapping Ostreopsis”, exploring how coastal tourism operators might provide early warning for issues such as harmful algal blooms.
2. “Blue Effect”, an initiative aiming to understand how marine ecotourism can impact the wellbeing of participants and their attitude towards environmental challenges.

Stay up to date with more initiatives involving tourism and citizens via the Travelecoology blog.