GeoWiki

17/08/2026

Grasslands cover roughly a third of Europe’s agricultural land and are among its most valuable habitats — supporting pollinators and biodiversity, storing carbon, and providing important resources for agriculture. But when and how often grasslands are mown can significantly affect their ecological value. That’s why knowing when mowing takes place is so important.

Together with our partners, and in preparation for a large-scale grassland campaign in 2027, we are now running a test campaign to record mowing events accross Europe.

So, next time you’re out and about, look around!
👀 Do you spot a freshly mown grassland?
🚜 Are there haystacks or visible machinery on the field?
🌾 Can you see other signs that mowing has recently taken place?

🏅 You can join Mowing Quest anytime and still have a chance to win a Garmin watch! Both the quality and quantity of your contributions matter.

ℹ️ If you want to participate, just download the Geo-Quest app, and open the Mowing Quest📱 Check out our learning materials: https://mowingquest.net/en/page/learning-materials

Feel free to share with others 🚀

IIASA European Environment Agency Copernicus EU

31/07/2026

Mowing Quest 2026: prototype test campaign launching now!

Visit https://mowingquest.net/ to join the campaign!

Mowing Quest prototype test campaign in 2026: during August and September 2026, a prototype test Mowing Quest campaign will be running. We invite all interested to join! This campaign will help us test the system and collect feedback to be ready for the main 2027 Mowing Quest campaign. Because it is a test campaign, many features will be rolled out during its course. Nevertheless, we have incentives for those who contribute high quality and quantity of quests e.g. two Garmin GPS-enabled watches (see campaign rules).

Context: Grasslands are important ecosystems for nature, climate and agriculture, but it can be hard to detect mowing events from satellite data alone, making grassland observations from people on the ground especially valuable.

What is the Mowing Quest? It is part of the In-Situ Data Collection Campaign Using Crowdsourcing for the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) Grassland Mowing Events and Dates project, supported by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Mowing Quest aims to run a Europe-wide citizen science campaign in 2027 during the mowing season to record grassland mowing events.

17/07/2026

👭Read more about the Horizon Europe-funded RIECS-Concept project, in which IIASA is helping to lay the foundations for a pan-European research infrastructure that will connect citizen science efforts across Europe and strengthen their scientific and societal impact.

🌍 Citizen science is transforming how research is conducted, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and the public to tackle complex societal and environmental challenges. But to unlock its full potential, it needs stronger, more connected research infrastructure.

In this article, IIASA researchers Steffen Fritz, Linda See, Dilek Fraisl, and Katya Perez Guzman explain how the Horizon Europe-funded RIECS-Concept project is laying the foundations for a pan-European research infrastructure that will make citizen science more interoperable, accessible, and impactful. From integrating diverse data sources to fostering open governance and long-term sustainability, the initiative aims to support collaboration across science and society.

Read the full story 👉 https://iiasa.ac.at/blog/jul-2026/towards-pan-european-research-infrastructure-for-excellent-citizen-science

, EU-Citizen.Science, Citizen Science Austria, GeoWiki

📷 Suburbanium | Dreamstime

13/02/2026

🍃Curious about what’s happening in the world of citizen science? Here’s a sneak peek in our newsletter:
🔹Exciting upcoming citizen science campaigns in 2026,
🔹Tree-Quest progress,
🔹New research about citizen science and much more

Read the full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/geo-wiki/newsletter-february-2026

18/07/2025

🍃 The July edition of the Geo-Wiki newsletter is here!
Dive into our latest highlights and explore exciting ways to get involved in citizen science this summer:
🌱Tree-Quest Campaign
🌱Livestock and Grassland management in Picture Pile
🌱How Citizens Are Mapping Urban Change and more

Read the full newsletter▶️ https://mailchi.mp/geo-wiki/newsletter-july-2025

IIASA

10/07/2025

🚀 We have recently launched a new citizen science campaign and invite everyone to take part through the free Geo-Quest app!

🌳With the Tree-Quest module in the Geo-Quest application, you can start measuring trees in your neighborhood to discover how much they store. Along the way, you’ll learn how trees combat climate change and how many it takes to offset everyday emissions from driving or flying. Your contributions will also help scientists improve satellite-based maps of forest carbon storage.

The campaign kicked off on June 23, 2025, during ESA's Living Planet Symposium in Vienna and we have a number of measurements already!

Read more about the official rules, our prizes and how you can join.

Get involved now ⬇️

ℹ️ https://c4cweb.main.geo-wiki.org/

15/05/2025

📅 Call for applications❗
👩‍🎓 IIASA Marie Curie Fellowships
⏰ Deadline — 31 May 2025

💡 Are you a young researcher with a PhD and no more than eight years of full-time equivalent research experience? 🧑‍🔬 Join the vibrant IIASA community of early to mid-career researchers and learn under the mentorship of renowned scientists from all over the world. Open to applicants of all nationalities.

🏛️ We offer immersion in world class research, development of core research skills, as well as skills related specifically to systems thinking and systems analysis, exposure to international processes, organizations, and networks. And a generous stipend, of course! 😉

Apply now ➡️ https://iiasa.ac.at/opportunities/marie-curie-individual-fellowships

31/03/2025

🌍 New Picture Pile Campaign Launched – Get Involved!
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new campaign as part of IIASA’s project.

Your contribution will support the validation of a new management geodatabase, helping to improve our understanding of livestock and grassland management practices across Europe.

Read more and join us:
🔗 https://iiasa.ac.at/news/mar-2025/launch-of-new-citizen-science-picture-pile-campaign-on-livestock-and-grassland

05/11/2024

🔔Are you passionate about science?🔔
Join ’s Young Scientists Summer Program with the NODES Research Group! Explore the opportunity to dive into the exciting topics of , , and deep learning, advanced geospatial techniques, data fusion and more, by getting to know and collaborating with our team of over 30 scientists!

Discover more in the link and get in touch with us!
https://iiasa.ac.at/yssp-opportunities-in-nodes-research-group

04/11/2024

As the TED AI conference unfolds in Vienna, Ian McCallum, IIASA Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group Leader, brings a fresh perspective on the pivotal role of artificial intelligence in Earth monitoring...