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Short talks - 18
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Sangita GaneshTechnology and Human Well-Being in Animal-Related Citizen Science in the Global SouthAnimal monitoring plays a critical role in understanding changes in species and environmental health. Technology-enabled citizen science can enhance monitoring by building observer networks with smartphones, web platforms or social media. While citizen science supports well-being through exercise, social connection and stress reduction, its use of technology may have unintended social consequences such as digital divides, equitable access, competence and community relationships (Andrachuk et al., 2019). These effects may be particularly pronounced in the Global South (Ragnedda and Gladkova, 2020). Thus, it is essential to investigate how technology-based citizen science incorporates well-being. By understanding this, we can seek to enhance outcomes for potential participants and citizen science project facilitators.

This talk presents a systematic scoping review conducted using the PRISMA framework of 153 studies that use technology in animal-related citizen science, and initial results from surveys and interviews conducted with citizen science facilitators across the Global South, with a significant number of responses from India. The findings explore well-being considerations for participants and facilitators, and emphasise the significance of social and cultural factors in the Global South. Furthermore, technology offers several benefits and challenges (e.g. promoting community experiences and exacerbating inequalities). These results enhance understanding of initiatives in the Global South and provide important implications for the citizen science community towards equitable use of technology and consideration of potential inequalities within communities.
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Deepanjana SahaFlocking Together Again? Understanding the Socialization of Birding in Post-COVID BangaloreThis study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the social dimensions of birdwatching in Bangalore, India. Drawing on over 30,000 eBird checklists from 2020 to 2024, the research examines whether group birding activity increased in urban versus rural areas, particularly during weekends. By analyzing group size (number of observers), time trends, and behavioral patterns, a measurable uptick in social birding activity in urban landscapes post-COVID is identified. Visualizations, t-tests, and density plots confirm these trends, and the implications for ecological monitoring and citizen science reliability are discussed. This work contributes to the growing conversation about the intersection of human behavior, biodiversity data, and the quality of environmental knowledge generated through participatory methods.
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Sagarmoy PhukanMapping the Ecosystem: An Analysis of Institutional Stakeholders of Ecological and Environmental Citizen Science in IndiaEcological and Environmental Citizen Science (EECS) initiatives in India are gaining momentum as participatory research approaches. However, the institutional ecosystem supporting these initiatives in India remains underexplored. This study presents the first comprehensive stakeholder mapping and analysis of institutional actors involved in EECS across India. Using a mixed-methods approach comprising of a systematic review of 59 academic records and 9 stakeholder interviews, the research identified 224 institutional stakeholders of EECS in India by processing and analysing the data in NVivo. The study then categorised the stakeholders mainly into six groups: Academic and Research Organisations (AROs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Government Agencies, Businesses and Industries, Formal Learning Institutes (FLIs), and Collaborative Platforms, along with their respective roles, such as project proponents, funders, collaborators, and authors. The extracted data were further processed in Gephi 9.2 to aid in the visualization of relationships among the stakeholders through a network analysis.

The study revealed AROs as the most dominant stakeholders of EECS in India, followed by CSOs and government agencies. The network analysis of the identified stakeholders showed that India has a fragmented nature of stakeholder networks, with high modularity and clustering but low overall connectivity, indicating limited cross-thematic collaboration. Other findings of the study indicate the need for sustainable funding mechanisms, inclusive collaboration, and policy integration to strengthen EECS initiatives. The study offers new perspectives in enhancing stakeholder engagement in EECS in India while providing a list of potential stakeholders for strategic collaboration and thematic expansion of EECS in India in the near future.
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Rupsana PradhanCitizen science initiatives of Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary, OdishaEngaging the public in scientific pursuits is an effective strategy for promoting environmental awareness and addressing conservation challenges. Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar, has embraced Citizen Science to strengthen conservation research and education through public participation in biodiversity documentation and ecological studies.
The Sunday Bird Walk is the flagship programme, engaging participants in bird identification, observation, and data collection under expert guidance. Conducted every Sunday since February 2022, it has completed 187 walks till October 2025, involving about 600 participants and recording 210 bird species from Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary. Encouraged by its success, similar bird walks have now been initiated in different parks of Bhubaneswar to promote birdwatching and biodiversity awareness beyond the zoo campus. The Butterfly Walk, held between March and October, covers the Zoo and the State Botanical Garden, where participants document butterfly species, learn host plant associations, and share photographs through the “Butterflies of India” database. Moth Watch sessions, using light traps, introduce participants to nocturnal pollinators of families like Geometridae and Sphingidae etc., highlighting their ecological significance. The Tree Walk explores tree diversity along QR-coded trails linked to the State Botanical Garden web portal, while the Herping Trail, conducted after dusk, enables ethical observation and documentation of reptiles and amphibians.
These programmes have built a volunteer-driven biodiversity database, including 210 bird species, 80 butterflies, 85 moths, and 30 reptiles and amphibians, along with 120 tree species within Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary. The initiatives provide hands-on field experience to students and nature enthusiasts, enhancing identification and data collection skills. The cumulative data supports habitat monitoring, species inventory, and spreading awareness, making Nandankanan a model for participatory conservation that effectively connects people with nature and science.
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Raniya AnsariSea Shells on the Sea Shore: A Citizen-driven Approach To Building Gastropod Baselines in the Mumbai IntertidalGastropods are an ecologically significant faunal group, with species filling various ecological niches across various ecosystems. In the intertidal zone, they are vital in maintaining ecological balance by forming important links in marine food webs. Additionally, they are commercially important in small scale fisheries and global shell trade, contributing to local livelihoods and cultural practices.

Despite their ecological and economic significance, studies on gastropod diversity from India remain fragmented. From Mumbai, studies by Melvill and Abercrombie, 1893 and Apte, 1993 provide the two largest baseline datasets with 228 species and 102 species, respectively. While these historical datasets have laid an important foundation, significant temporal gaps remain in our understanding of their occurrence and distribution in Mumbai.

In 2025, we analysed a 10-year dataset collected by the citizen science project Marine Life of Mumbai, and compiled a checklist of 164 species of gastropods with 7 rediscoveries and 64 new records from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Our findings highlight the potential of citizen science as a valuable tool for studying biodiversity in dynamic coastal ecosystems. Unlike conventional research methods, it enables the detection of species that may have been previously overlooked due to temporal or spatial sampling limitations of more structured methods. When implemented with quality control measures and expert validation, it can generate robust baseline datasets even for taxonomically complex groups across large geographic areas, enabling long-term monitoring in areas where more traditional surveys may be limited by logistics and resources. These datasets provide a robust foundation for finer-scale ecological studies and long-term assessments of environmental changes. We emphasize the role of citizen science, a scalable, non-invasive, and inclusive method for documenting species diversity, assemblage and establishing monitoring frameworks for anthropogenic habitats. This work contributes to broader discussions on democratising science and involving community participation in conservation efforts.
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Sharvari C VCitizen Science Reveals Spatial Niche Separation Between Coexisting Kingfisher Species in an Urban LandscapeCitizen science platforms such as eBird and iNaturalist have revolutionized biodiversity monitoring by enabling large-scale data collection through public participation. These platforms provide valuable long-term datasets that can be used to understand ecological processes, including how closely related species share and partition resources in urban environments. This study explores niche separation between the Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) and the White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) across Bengaluru, Karnataka, using data primarily derived from eBird (over 66,000 observations) and iNaturalist (around 720 records) from 2020 to 2025. Kingfishers, being fish-eating birds commonly associated with aquatic habitats, coexist in regions where food and nesting resources may be limited. We hypothesize that these species exhibit spatial niche separation in response to resource competition, reflected in their distance from water bodies, preference of different sizes of water bodies and habitat preference. Using geospatial analysis, each observation was mapped to the nearest waterbody, and the distance from observation points to water was measured to infer nesting and foraging proximity. Results show a distinct separation pattern: the Common Kingfisher is found much closer to water bodies, whereas the White-throated Kingfisher is recorded farther away, indicating its broader dietary range and adaptability to terrestrial prey. This study demonstrates how citizen science datasets, especially from eBird and iNaturalist, can be effectively used to test ecological hypotheses at large spatial scales. Such analyses deepen our understanding of urban biodiversity patterns and highlight the power of participatory data in advancing ecological research and conservation planning.

Authors: Sharvari C V - IISER Tirupati, Hareesha AS - Citizen Science Coordinator, IISER Tirupati and Robin VV - Associate Professor, Biology Department, Bird Lab, IISER Tirupati
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Farida Tampal community's contribution and Hyderabad city’s ecological richness.
Hyderabad, a rapidly urbanizing metropolis, continues to sustain remarkable ecological richness due to its diverse tree and animal life and the proactive contribution of local communities. This study aimed to document and analyze the city’s urban biodiversity through a citizen-driven ecological survey. The survey map was divided into six zones, each comprising several circles. From each circle, one location was selected based on volunteer availability and preferences. A total of 153 volunteers organized into 30 teams surveyed 26 locations, collectively recording 837 trees representing 108 species, of which 31 species had more than five individuals.

Among 512 trees categorized for nativeness, 38.67% were Introduced, 5.86% Introduced–Naturalised, 20.31% Native Telangana Suitable, and 35.16% Native to India. Avenue trees dominated the landscape (82.62%) compared to non-avenue trees (17.38%). The Delonix regia (Gulmohur) exhibited the highest animal association (1002 counts), followed by Ficus religiosa (Peepal, 217) and Azadirachta indica (Neem, 165), underscoring their ecological importance as keystone species supporting urban fauna.

The findings highlight the effectiveness of community-based biodiversity mapping in assessing ecological assets within urban environments. Encouraging citizen participation not only enhances environmental awareness but also provides valuable data for sustainable urban planning. Future work should focus on longitudinal monitoring and integrating biodiversity conservation strategies into Hyderabad’s urban development framework.
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Swati UdayrajWhere we look and what we record: Unpacking bias in community-collected data in IndiaCitizen Science in India has gained momentum over the last decade, with numerous local to national-level projects that have generated a plethora of data. These projects are often taxon- or region-specific, leading to inherent bias in citizen science occurrence data. They are often centred around big cities, wildlife hotspots, and other accessible areas, and remote regions are often underrepresented. Within such projects, it is crucial to understand if citizens favour species that are easy to record or those that have high charisma. Understanding decision-making in citizen scientists is crucial for designing and implementing future projects to minimise spatial and taxonomic bias in data collection. We designed a questionnaire survey to understand community-collected biodiversity data collection practices and frequency among over 220 ecologists, citizen scientists, and nature enthusiasts who contributed to the Squirrels of South Asia database. The questionnaire was structured to record behavioural bias in a tiered manner, first across all taxa, and then focusing on a single group (squirrels) with a diversity of species. Analysis revealed that, across all taxa, people were more likely to record species observations in areas closer to their homes, in nearby green spaces, and in wildlife hotspots, indicating a strong spatial bias among observers. They were also more likely to record species that were of interest to them individually, especially those they found visually appealing. Testing the proclivity for appeal within one taxa (ten groups of squirrels), we found that both charismatic and common species were recorded more often than dull, obscure species. These findings further confirmed strong species bias stemming from observer behaviour. Despite such biases, community-collected data sources are valuable and complementary to traditional data sources. Integrating these data sources while accounting for the biases during analysis can aid in understanding species distribution and potential range shifts due to environmental changes.
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Umang AgnihotriDelineating Areas of Habitat for Waterbirds Using Citizen Science and Geospatial Data Across India’s Ramsar Catchments Wetlands form critical habitats that sustain diverse waterbird populations by providing food, shelter, and breeding grounds. In India, the extensive Ramsar Site network represents globally significant wetlands, yet the ecological linkages between these sites and their surrounding catchments remain underexplored. This study aims to identify suitable ecological niches for waterbirds within and beyond Ramsar Site boundaries, emphasising the role of satellite wetlands in supporting biodiversity in the vicinity. Using multi-source datasets, including citizen science observations from Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), eBird, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) datasets, alongside elevation and land use land cover data, we delineated the Area of Habitat (AOH) for key waterbird species across Ramsar Site catchments. Spatial modelling and niche analysis are employed to determine habitat suitability and to evaluate how hydrological and landscape connectivity influence species distribution. Results highlight that numerous satellite wetlands within the catchments act as vital ecological buffers, extending the functional habitat range of waterbirds beyond Ramsar Site boundaries. By integrating species occurrence data with hydro-geomorphological variables, this study identifies wetlands in the catchment of high conservation significance that merit prioritisation for national and international recognition. The findings underscore the importance of a landscape-level conservation approach that encompasses both designated Ramsar Sites and their surrounding wetland mosaics, ensuring sustained ecological connectivity and identifying potential waterbird habitats.
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Hareesha ASFrom Campus to Community: Tirupati Bird Atlas Model for Long-Term Biodiversity MonitoringThe Tirupati Bird Atlas showcases a distinctive and evolving community-based model for monitoring urban biodiversity in southern India. Initiated by IISER Tirupati in 2022, the project began at a time when local birdwatching activity was nearly absent, with surveys and citizen science efforts driven mainly by IISER students and volunteers from outside the region. Over time, through consistent outreach, awareness programs, and capacity-building activities, local residents became actively involved in bird monitoring. Within a few years, the local community assumed complete responsibility for implementing the atlas, with IISER Tirupati continuing as a knowledge and research partner.
Unlike other bird atlas models in India, the Tirupati Bird Atlas follows a highly participatory approach that supports volunteers with training, food, accommodation, and travel arrangements, ensuring inclusivity and sustained engagement. The data generated through this initiative provide valuable insights into the Tirupati landscape, where birds serve as key indicators of habitat changes and ecosystem health. Situated adjacent to the Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve, the only biosphere reserve in the Eastern Ghats. Tirupati encompasses diverse habitats, including dense urban centers, farmlands, and forested hills reaching 900 meters in elevation. As one of India’s most visited pilgrimage destinations and a rapidly developing smart city attracting over three crore tourists annually, Tirupati faces growing environmental challenges.
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Priyanka Mowlali, Swati Udayraj, Nandini RajamaniPixels and Patterns: Using community-collected imagery to understand pelage variation in a near-threatened giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) in the Indian subcontinent.Publicly available community science data and social media photographs offer broad spatial and temporal coverage of species occurrence data. Such data are increasingly being used to study various aspects of species evolution and behaviour, including acoustics, colour and breeding patterns. As a part of the Squirrels of South Asia (SOSA) database, we compiled novel georeferenced occurrence records of the lesser-known grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) across its geographic distribution. Ratufa macroura occurs in southern India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka), where populations are highly fragmented, and in Sri Lanka, where its distribution is more continuous. The species is visibly polymorphic across its range, which makes it a valuable system for quantifying pelage colour variation and understanding how landscape and climatic factors affect phenotypes across spatial scales. While images from citizen-science platforms reduce the need for logistically expensive and challenging fieldwork, there are underlying challenges such as observer bias, variation in lighting and camera settings and quality, as well as metadata accuracy. After verifying geographic accuracy by georeferencing images with available location information, we accounted for the discrepancies in image data by standardising images using a colour correcting tool. To analyse colour variation in images, we divided the body into segments and extracted RGB values, which were then used to calculate a darkness score for each individual. Preliminary analyses revealed that individuals from Sri Lanka exhibited variable darkness scores compared to those from India. In addition to location-specific variation, we also observed within-body variation, with the upper body being darker on average. Ongoing analyses will further examine the strength of these patterns and their environmental correlates. By combining citizen science data with quantitative colour analysis, our findings will contribute to understanding the adaptive significance of colour variation and biogeographical differentiation in a near-threatened species.
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Ananya Deshkar From Fields to Feathers: GKVK’s Journey to Becoming India’s Birding PowerhousePowerhouseGandhi Krishi Vijnana Kendra (GKVK), recognized as a Biodiversity Heritage Site, is situated
approximately 15 km from the center of Bangalore. Despite being surrounded by urban
expansion, the 1,300-acre campus serves as a vital green refuge for wildlife, comprising a mosaic
of agricultural fields, forests, grasslands, orchards, farm ponds, and human-influenced habitats.
This landscape heterogeneity provides ideal conditions for a diverse avian community to thrive
amidst urban pressures. In 2018, students initiated a movement to monitor campus biodiversity
through Bird Activity sessions, which led to the formation of the “GKVK Nature Club”. What
began as a small student-driven initiative evolved into a model for citizen science and
environmental engagement. The club’s activities, ranging from public bird walks and awareness
sessions to weekly bird monitoring, transformed the perception of the campus from a research
space to a living classroom for conservation.
Over six years, this consistent community engagement has not only inspired several students to
pursue careers in ornithology and wildlife conservation but has also resulted in remarkable
scientific outcomes. The avian species count has increased from 162 to 255, while the number of
eBird checklists has grown exponentially, from about 2,000 to over 26,000. This achievement
has placed GKVK among India’s top birding hotspots, ranking within the top 10 globally in the
number of checklists submitted. GKVK stands today as a testament to how student-led citizen
science, institutional support, and sustained engagement can turn an academic campus into a
thriving hub of biodiversity documentation and conservation awareness.
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K.Sendur SarwaanTracking Roadkills: Citizen Science in the Tirupati LandscapeRoadkill is an increasingly significant but under-documented conservation issue worldwide, and India is no exception. With expanding road networks and traffic intensity, wildlife-vehicle collisions have emerged as a serious threat to biodiversity, even in and around protected areas. Despite their ecological relevance, such incidents are often underreported due to low awareness and limited integration of these data into conservation policy. This study examines roadkill patterns along a 5 km stretch between Yerpedu and IISER Tirupati, within the Tirupati landscape of Andhra Pradesh, while also contextualizing findings at the state and national levels. Over the past two years, citizen scientists and volunteers have conducted systematic roadkill monitoring in this area, uploading their observations to the iNaturalist platform, contributing data to both the Global Roadkill Project and the Indian Roadkill Project. After data cleaning and de-duplication, 2,988 roadkill records were compiled for India, of which 349 originated from Andhra Pradesh and 133 specifically from the Tirupati landscape. Taxonomically, the dataset is dominated by herpetofauna, with snakes accounting for 1,959 records across 136 species, particularly concentrated in peninsular India, the Konkan coast, and parts of northeast India and this tendency is greatly seen in the proximity of metropolitan cities as well. This trend aligns with earlier studies highlighting the vulnerability of reptiles to road mortality. Notably, threatened taxa such as the King Cobra, Common Sand Boa, and Red Sand Boa were among the recorded victims. These findings underscore the immense potential of citizen science platforms like iNaturalist to document wildlife mortality, bridge data gaps, and inform evidence-based road ecology and conservation planning in India.
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Ashwin A Unpacking Community Growth and Data Quality Trends from City Nature Challenge IndiaThe City Nature Challenge (CNC) has demonstrably catalyzed a rapid expansion of biodiversity monitoring and citizen participation across India. This success is evident in the remarkable surge in observations, growing from 86,180 in 2023 to 232,666 in 2025, and the increase in total observers from 1,340 to 3,281. The CNC acts as a major recruitment event, aiming to strengthen the role of citizens in science.

A key question for its long-term success is the quality and sustainability of this growth. While the volume of data is impressive, its research utility and conservation value depend critically on data quality, specifically the proportion of observations reaching "Research Grade" (RG). We critically note that the RG percentage has fluctuated, peaking at 28% in 2024. This study investigates the patterns of community growth alongside a critical analysis of RG achievement, offering insights into best practices for supporting emerging citizen science initiatives.

A core focus is the recruitment and retention dynamics of the CNC. We present a detailed analysis of the overwhelming number of new users who have joined iNaturalist, distinguishing between those who joined during a CNC event and those who joined at other times. Crucially, we critically examine the success of the CNC in converting new participants into long-term contributors, assessing the quality of their sustained participation beyond the event.

We analyze RG percentages at regional and city scales, comparing temporal and spatial variations to understand the evolution of quality relative to quantity. Taxonomic analysis reveals stark disparities: Aves (Birds) reach over 90% RG, thanks to active expert communities, while key groups like Plants and Fungi languish below 20% RG. We identify taxonomic and geographic bottlenecks in the data curation process, present the curation backlog issues. Our findings offer practical insights into increasing quality of uploaded observations, enhancing community support and directing identification efforts. This work contributes to broader discussions on the challenges of scaling up citizen science initiatives while ensuring robust, high-quality data that reliably supports contemporary biodiversity science and conservation action.
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Keerthikrutha Seetharaman Creating an Atlas of Invasive Alien Plants of India


Invasive alien plants pose significant ecological and economic challenges by displacing native species and disrupting ecosystem processes. Yet, comprehensive data on their distribution across India remain limited. Such data are important to understand patterns of invasive species occurrence, to identify vulnerable habitats, and to prioritise management action. The Mapping Invasive Alien Plants (MIAP) initiative seeks to address this gap by developing the first nationwide atlas of invasive plants. Drawing on published sources, global databases, and expert consultations, we have compiled a working list of over 200 invasive alien plant species in India. Using iNaturalist as the primary platform, we have gathered observations of these species from across the country. Preliminary analyses suggest that most records are concentrated in southern and western India, with northern and northeastern regions underrepresented. Through social media outreach, planned workshops, and continued engagement with contributors, MIAP aims to build a more inclusive and community-driven understanding of invasive plant distributions across India.


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Durgaprasad KarnamMango-mapping and Seasonomics: A low-threshold context for citizens to engage in doing scienceSeasonomics is a citizen-science project driven by hundreds of students, their friends and relatives, from across India, collaboratively for more than 5 years now, under the umbrella of the CUBE project. Of these, Mango tree has been a popular model system. CUBists all over India have collaboratively collected data on leaf sprouting, flowering and fruiting in mango trees in their locality. The methodology has been simple: to click a photo of the mango-tree and share information on its flowering/non-flowering status, fruiting/non-fruiting status, while recording their location and date. These were recorded in multiple channels ranging from WhatsApp groups, metaStudio platform and a KoboTool based survey.

Given the scale and range of the data collected, it allows us to ask some fundamental questions on the mango phenology — the role of temperature, humidity, photoperiod, etc., as studied by many (Nunez-Elosea and Davenport,1997; Martin and Upreti, 2000; Md Aayesha Jameel et al, 2018). This can allow us to document the flowering patterns of mango in India, similar to the one done in tropical and subtropical regions (Fernando Ramirez and Davenport 2010). Further, our work focuses on the prediction of mango flowering along a latitude in India. For example, how is the flowering in Kolkata, Ranchi and Bhopal, all at a similar latitude, related or how does this change from Trivandrum to Thrissur at different latitudes? Besides phenology studies, such observations across species, years and locations can be rich data for biodiversity and climate studies. Here, we will present how such contexts become a great opportunity to engage all, especially students, in STEM habits like hypothesis-framing, observing, hypothesis-testing, and peer-review. The simplicity and relatability of these observations keep the threshold so low that even school students participate, not just in data collection but in Science.
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