SeaPaCS: Participatory Citizen Science against Marine Pollution and Climate Change

  • What it is

    A project to inform people on local biodiversity and plastic pollution

  • Who it’s for

    Local community of the City of Anzio (Rome)

  • What it’s for

    Trigger transformative action for sustainability-oriented behaviours

SeaPaCS – “Participatory Citizen Science against marine pollution” project is intended to raise awareness about the consequences of marine plastic pollution on local biodiversity and to trigger transformative local action for sustainability-oriented behaviours in the coastal city of Anzio (Rome). Citizen scientists will help the project in two complementary research questions:

  • What marine microbial community lives on microplastics in the Mediterranean plastisphere?
  • How can the experience of sea workers and amateurs help decrease plastic debris and promote sustainable behaviours?

SeaPaCS combines natural and social science research to engage multiple citizen groups (migrant fishermen cooperatives, students, associations, sailors and divers, scientists, video makers and photographers…) in meetings open to everybody (called “collaboratorium”), training sessions and co-production of tools for collective sea-going expeditions in the coastal waters on sailing and fishing boat, interviews, and the organisation of public activities (e.g. video and photo expositions, media coverage, redaction of follow-up plan). SeaPaCS is led by Chiara Certomà – DIGGEO@ESOMAS lab at the University of Turin (UniTo), Italy, and co-coordinated by Luisa Galgani – Marine Biochemistry Division of GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany, and Federico Fornaro – Italian Naval League (LNI), Italy.