Citizen science / Community Science is the practice of public participation in scientific research to contribute to data collection – most initiatives do not require a scientific background or special knowledge but more of a keen eye for observation and curiosity about the world around you. While contributing with data the citizen scientist is also supporting efforts at nature conservation and better protection of rare species. It also acts as a tool to increase awareness of the biodiversity around us while providing a deeper nature connection.

As part of its commitment to safeguarding Comino, Friends of the Earth Malta last year launched its own Wild Kemmuna citizen science project on the iNATURALIST platform. The free downloadable app is easy to use and has the added advantage of helping you to learn more about species you encounter as it suggests identification for you – this will help you improve your skills to start recognising wildlife around you. There have also been cases of members of the public discovering species which had been thought extinct! You just need a camera and the mobile app, and you can use it anywhere in the world by sharing observations as photos, videos or sound clips!

Join us to document your own findings – we are aiming to collect more photos of wild species (both flora and fauna) all over this NATURA 2000 site Check out our project here: Wild Kemmuna · iNaturalist.
At the time of writing we have 1380 observations and 309 species recorded from Kemmuna – help us increase the sightings!

Other citizen science projects:

Wild for Orchids Malta
Recently we held a Bioblitz with youths attending our Kamp Kemmuna together with orchid enthusiasts from the Wild for Orchids Community – the aim was to work as teams to add as many observations as possible for two Citizen Science projects using two differenti apps: iNaturalist for Wild Kemmuna and Epicollect for the Wild for Orchids Project. Why not join some of their regulari fieldworks till the end of spring and discover the beautiful, sometimes elusive, wild orchids around us. You can connect on their page or via email.

Merilli Malta Project
Friends of the Earth Malta collaborates with the Merilli Malta Project – a citizen science Project aimed at studying the National Bird of Malta – the Blue Rock Thursh (Merill). We will soon be installing a nest box at Il-Forn ta’ Kemmuna as part of this Project and we often share our sightings with their team of ornithologists. Public participation is key for this initiative – if you are an avid birdwatcher, nature photographer, or simply intrigued by local biodiversity, you can be part of this project by observing and photographing Blue Rock-thrushes and reporting your colour-ring resightings.