Sustainable Ecosystems
Our vision is to demonstrate effective embedding of citizen science in initiatives seeking societal transformation for sustainable marine and freshwater ecosystems.
OTTERS wishes to not only generate data but through citizen science also contribute to changing hearts, increasing care for marine and freshwater ecosystems and fostering a sense of agency, leading to the contribution of healthy ecosystems to human wellbeing.
Citizen Science for Fostering Engagement
OTTERS views citizen science as an excellent tool for fostering citizen engagement and stewardship of the natural environment, including the marine and freshwater domains.
To achieve its mission successfully, OTTERS aims to help citizen science in establishing standardise methods of collecting data in line with policy and scientific objectives and standards as well as overcome institutional and ethical challenges.
The OTTERS Project will assess the effectiveness of citizen science for research and innovation and examine the impact of citizen science campaigns on citizen behaviour and their epistemic relation with marine and freshwater environments.
This will contribute a wide range of stakeholders including fishing communities, sailors, divers, schools, local associations (cultural, environmental and recreational), etc.
We wish to promote digital data collection and participatory research involving citizens for the monitoring and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, particularly through organizing watershed level, cross community Spring-to-Sea Stewardship campaigns.
"Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters" Charter
In support of the Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030’, the OTTERS project has officially endorsed the Mission Charter.
This marks a significant milestone in the journey towards a cleaner and more sustainable future for our planet’s vital aquatic ecosystems.
The project’s successful submission under the “Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters” Charter is a testament to its unwavering commitment to marine and freshwater conservation.
The acceptance of the OTTERS project action underscores its central role in addressing and supporting several critical objectives outlined within the Mission Ocean initiative: Protect and restore ecosystems, eliminate pollution, and promote sustainable blue economy.
The OTTERS project is poised to make a significant and lasting contribution to the protection and restoration of our precious marine and freshwater resources.
PARTNERS
The OTTERS consortium is comprised of 12 partners from universities, research institutions, NGO’s and citizen science organisations form Armenia, UK, Portugal, Ukraine, Germany, Israel, the Netherland, Italy and Greece.
American University of Armenia (AUA) (Coordinator)
The American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. AUA Acopian Center’s areas of work include: environmental policy, sustainable natural resource management, built environment and the natural environment, information technology and the natural environment. The center was founded in 1992 and from the very beginning, it was the center’s aim to protect Armenia’s biodiversity and natural resources through research, education and public involvement.
European Citizen Science Association (ECSA)
The European Citizen Science Association is a membership-based association, and its membership network represents over 30 countries and different sectors in society. Research centres, NGOs, Universities, Museums, Government bodies, Associations, SMEs and Schools.
ECSA is a membership association that brings together many stakeholders who want to increase the democratization of knowledge production. We are open to both individual and organizational members; currently, our hundreds of members come from countries across the European Union and beyond.
Agora Partners (AP)
Agora Partners provides a blend of technical, scientific and industrial qualifications, strong management skills, extensive understanding of international partnerships, in-depth knowledge of European programmes and above all, the skills to present your ideas and interests successfully in a competitive environment. To date, the company has managed 25 projects totalling about € 150 million for its partners.
Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH)
The Democritus University of Thrace is the first Greek regional multi-campus university that not only solely served purely educational objectives. The University is classified among the biggest Greek Universities in terms of the number of its active student population. Geographically dispersed throughout Thrace, with 8 Schools, 20 Departments and a wide variety of Postgraduate Programs, with a student population that reaches approximately 29,000 (undergraduate, graduate students and candidate PhD students) and with a research and teaching staff that exceeds 700 people, the university still is the only academic institution in the Administrative Region of East Macedonia & Thrace.
21c Consultancy (21c)
21c Consultancy is a UK based digital transformation SME working at the intersection of users and technology, delivering and promoting successful ICT research and innovation initiatives that generate multi-stakeholder engagement (business, public sector, civil society and academia) across multiple communication channels.
Ellinogermaniki Agogi (EA)
Ellinogermaniki Agogi is one of the most innovative schools in Europe, with rich research and development activity in the fields of Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE), Project Based Learning (PBL), and STEM education in combination with digital, online based learning environments and tools that use virtual reality, augmented reality and story-based education.
Nucleo Interativo de Astronomia (NUCLIO)
Nucleo Interativo de Astronomia is a non-profit association and an NGO for development focusing on the empowerment of educators to integrate innovative practices to facilitate students’ learning and acquisition of key skills.
The work done by the team includes the promotion of active research as a tool for STEAM learning and environmental awareness, the adoption of Interdisciplinary and Inquiry learning approaches, the adaptation of the Design Thinking method to the school environment, innovative student assessment and the implementation of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles NUCLIO is an official training centre recognised by the Portuguese Ministry of Education.
EcoOcean (Eco)
EcoOcean is a non-profit Israeli organisation established in 2002. The organisation’s mission is to empower people to care for the marine and coastal environment of Israel and the region. We do this by means of supporting research, education and community outreach.
Our main assets include the R/V Mediterranean Explorer, ROV and oceanographic research facilities; our educational centre and staff; our volunteers’ teams and our programs within the local municipalities such as the Blue Flag program. We have extensive and long-term research and citizen’s science experience as well as ability to reach and raise awareness and motivate communities, local municipalities and stakeholders.
RAMANI
RAMANI is a SME which started as a spin-off company from the University of Twente, with a mission to accelerate uptake of Copernicus data by society. RAMANI has developed a toolbox for software developers to be able to quickly get results by providing a series of APIs providing advanced functionality to mobile Apps such as AI (artificial intelligence), Crowdsourcing, Offline maps and routing, etc. Ujuizi Laboratories has utilised the RAMANI APIs for its award-winning crowdsourcing app called “CHEETAH”, which fights food loss in West Africa.
University of Haifa (UH)
The University of Haifa is a developing and dynamic institution with a world-renowned reputation in many different fields of research, and it is the leading University in Israel in the fields of the Humanities, Social Sciences, Law, Welfare and Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, Education and Management. The University was selected by the Council for Higher Education to lead the field of Marine Research as well as the field of Education in a Networked Society.
The Odesa National I.I. Mechnikov University (ONU)
The Odesa National I.I. Mechnikov University (ONU), Ukraine was established in 1865, has 8 departments, 3 Educational Institutes, and 72 programs. It prepares bachelors, masters, and PhDs in 30 specialties and trains over 20000 students from 25 countries. The University has at its disposal 17 autonomous research laboratories, a scientific library, botanical gardens, as well as paleontological, zoological, and geological-mineralogical museums, with a total staff of more than 1700. The ONU has a scientific department comprising 800 scientists, specialists, engineers, and administration. The main department of the University involved in the proposed project is the Regional Centre for Environmental Monitoring and Ecological Research (RCIEMER). RCIEMER has two field investigations areas: Diiester Delta water bodies(rivers, lakes, and liman) coastal marine waters near Island Zmiinyi in the Black Sea ( 35 km far from the Danube Delta) The main research activities of the RCIEMER are on freshwater and marine microbiology, hydrobiology, marine resources, and especially fishery; environmental and marine monitoring, management and protection; coastal zone studies; atmospheric and marine chemistry; climate and environment; modeling of natural ecosystems; improving the quality of life and management of living resources; environment and sustainable development, environmental sensing, environmental impact assessment, using of space images for coastal dynamic and database creation.
CSGI (Center for Colloid and Surface Science)
CSGI (Center for Colloid and Surface Science) is an inter-university research consortium focused on the development of new approaches to technological development and the environment management. The consortium brings together expertise from more than 20 Italian universities, supporting a large number of European and national research projects. CSGI gathers the expertise of 300 researchers, providing support and knowledge exchange across a range of fields, as well as allow for a fluid exchange of researchers and expertise across disciplines. The consortium supports a range of training initiatives, including workshops, schools and conferences at European and international levels.