This is not a public event and is invite-only for citizen science organisations and stakeholders. If your organisation would be interested in attending please fill out the form at the end of the page.
Join us for Marine Citizen Science Week 2025, a four day celebration for citizen science projects, volunteers, and stakeholders from across the UK. Made possible through the Defra funded marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme and facilitated by The Rock Pool Project.
Why join for Marine Citizen Science Week?
Citizen science schemes:
- Cultivate a community of marine and coastal citizen science volunteers
- Join forces across citizen science schemes to demonstrate the power of volunteer data
- Foster collaboration and innovation between citizen science schemes and stakeholders
Citizen science stakeholders:
- A platform for stakeholders to share future plans, exchanging knowledge and best practices.
- Explore how citizen science data can better inform local natural capital, marine policy and conservation
- Highlight strategies to increase public engagement and awareness in marine conservation.
This is an in-person event with workshops taking place in parallel in Plymouth and Whitley Bay.
Overview
Over the spring tides (1 – 4 March 2025) we will conduct a collective snapshot of marine ecosystem health at two different ends of the country: Plymouth and Whitley Bay.
Co-development session: Once registered for Marine Citizen Science Week you will receive a link to join the co-development sessions happening in the last week of January. There will be two sessions: 10am on Tuesday 28th January & 7pm on Thursday 30th January.
This is your opportunity to engage, influence, and direct the questions and discussions that will be held during Marine Citizen Science Week. We will include break-out rooms for in-depth discussions focusing on local and national aspects of marine citizen science. There’ll also be an online survey to gather input prior to the session and for those who can’t make it.
Days 1 & 2: The first two days will be packed with multiple surveys showcasing the diversity of ongoing marine citizen science projects and capture multidisciplinary data to inform local natural capital and marine monitoring. It’s the perfect opportunity to connect, share, and discover new ways to make an impact.
All citizen science projects are invited to lead surveys with their volunteers. Whether it’s in the intertidal zone or conducting shoreline counts, both the northeast and southwest venues have access to a range of marine habitats.
Days 3 & 4: For Scheme Leaders & Stakeholders. The second half of the week shifts focus to workshops, group discussions, and presentations. Scheme leaders and stakeholders will dive into the logistics of leveraging marine citizen science results to inform policy and conservation. We will share and discuss methods and strategies for the future of marine citizen science and have the chance to trial new and innovative methods. This is your chance to amplify the reach and relevance of marine citizen science.
To find out more, you can watch a recording of the information session held in November on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhOwxzImsk8
To stay up to date about the week please register your interest here. Tickets for the event will go live on Thursday 28th November, please complete the expression of interest form to be provided with a link.
You can also contact Christophe Patterson at cpatterson@therockpoolproject.co.uk for more information.
Accommodation and Travel
We have some capacity to provide accommodation and travel to help those who would otherwise be unable to attend Marine Citizen Science Week. If you require accommodation and/or travel expenses please fill out these details when registering for the event and we will get in contact with you. For accommodation, you will need to register before December the 20th.
