Citizen science

We have particular expertise in air pollution, biodiversity, and health and well-being. We undertake research around the practice of citizen science, with a particular interest in citizen science participants, including who participates, what motivates them to participate and what they gain from participating. Our research is used to guide the design of citizen science projects to make them more inclusive and rewarding for those taking part.

People standing and forming a circle — Photo: Dario Valenzuela / Unsplash

We use our international network to explore the use of citizen science methods in the Global South, including how citizen science approaches can be used to make progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. All of our projects are done in partnership with other organizations, including research organizations, NGOs, community groups, schools and local authorities. We also have a growing number of PhD students exploring a range of topics around citizen science projects. If you’d like to work with us on a project or as a PhD student, please get in touch with our Research coordinator.

A top-down view of several people walking together up a colorful, abstract mountain landscape with overlapping geometric shapes, including a large sun and mountain peaks, under a gradient sky.

Ecological Citizen(s) Network+ announces recipients of first funding round

Press release / Seven projects that will receive funding from the Ecological Citizen(s) Network+ to explore "Ecological Citizenship" have been announced.

13 August 2024 / About Innovation and Participation

A group of people, including children, walk across a wooden footbridge over a river in a grassy landscape under an overcast sky.

Q&A: How can we make volunteer biological recording more inclusive?

Feature / In this Q&A, Rachel Pateman, a Research Fellow at SEI York, discusses the importance of inclusivity in volunteer biological recording.

28 July 2024 / About Participation and Wellbeing

A sign indicating a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in an urban area. The sign features a bold, turquoise circle with the letters ‘LEZ’ in white and an icon of a camera with a flash below the text. The background shows a blurred modern building facade.

Breathe better: UK air improvements

Feature / On UK Clean Air Day, SEI York researchers explore the potential for UK-led initiatives to inspire and guide global policies and actions toward cleaner air.

18 June 2024 / About Cities

Close up of a woman facing away from the camera, holding up a smart phone to take a photo of some leaves in a forest.

Q&A: Smriti Safaya introduces the inaugural York City Nature Challenge

Feature / Smriti explains how York residents can contribute to this international event by recording wildlife they see and why she is passionate about citizen science.

22 March 2024 / About Cities and Ecosystems

A young South Asian woman stands at a desk holding up a medium-sized photovoltaic cell, showing it to two other people who have their backs to the camera.

Citizen science and its potential for aiding low carbon energy transitions

Journal article / By empowering communities and adopting participatory approaches, citizen science projects generate essential knowledge that informs decision-making processes.

21 August 2024 / About Participation

Using creative methods for public health messaging

SEI report / This SEI report gives an overview about a participatory public health project conducted during the pandemic in an informal settlement of Nairobi.

14 August 2024 / About Cities and Wellbeing

Transdisciplinary research as a means of protecting human health, ecosystems and climate by engaging people to act on air pollution

Journal article / Using arts-based approaches, researchers worked with communities in Nairobi to empower people to take action on air pollution.

15 April 2024 / About Pollution

Co-designing an air quality web app with school pupils and staff: the SAMHE Web App

Journal article / The SAMHE Web App was co-designed with schools to ensure maximum acceptance and engagement by teachers and pupils, as this is critical to the project's success.

4 December 2023 / About Pollution

Empty school classroom with some windows open.

Webinar: Indoor air quality in UK schools – findings from the SAMHE project

Past event / Sarah West and the wider SAMHE team shared the project's findings on indoor air quality in UK schools. Watch the recording.

17 July 2024 / About Cities and Pollution

Fostering diversity and inclusivity in citizen science: a collective exploration

Past event / SEI York's Citizen Science Group ran a panel session exploring four related narratives at the Science in Public 2024 conference in Birmingham, UK.

08 July 2024 / About Participation, Pollution, Renewables and Wellbeing

Citizen science and youth mental health: co-creating future research

Past event / See Rhys Archer's insights from the Youth LIVES project, as shared at the European Network for Mental Health Service Evaluation (ENMESH) conference.

04 July 2024 / About Wellbeing

SAMHE workshop at PECT Eco Awards 2024

Past event / Sam Bland led primary and secondary school students in an interactive demonstration of the SAMHE air quality monitor at this event in Peterborough.

23 May 2024 / About Cities and Pollution

Ecological Citizen(s)

Project / SEI's Ecological Citizens project cultivates trans-disciplinary collaboration and research to enable a digital sustainable society for positive climate action.

2023 - 2027 / About Climate policy, Innovation, Mitigation and Participation

SAMHE: Schools’ air quality monitoring for health and education

Project / A citizen science project monitoring indoor air, created with and for UK schools.

2022 - 2024 / About Cities and Pollution

Bradford City Hall and Centenary Square at night

INGENIOUS: Understanding the sources, transformations and fates of indoor air pollutants

Project / This project investigates air pollutants inside homes in the city of Bradford, UK: their sources, interactions and health effects on those living there.

2021 - 2025 / About Cities, Household energy and Pollution

Close up of grassy plants in a forest. In the background a girl dressed in khaki clothes and a cap crouches, looking at something on the ground through a magnifying glass.

Environmental citizen science in schools

Project / Investigating if and how hands-on experiences with nature impact values, attitudes and pro-environmental behaviour amongst secondary school students.

2023 - 2025 / About Public policy