Aurelie De Smet‘Mijn Tuinlab’ (MTL) is a citizen science project initiated by Kenniscentrum tuin+ (Aurelie De Smet, Geert Meysmans, and Valerie Dewaelheyns). The ultimate aim of the MTL project is to contribute to better management and policy-making relating to the ecosystem service of (semi-)private open and green space in light of the socio-ecological challenges our society is currently facing.
The digital platform mijntuinlab.be has a double aim: on the one hand, it is a platform for interdisciplinary research on (semi-) private open and green spaces; on the other hand, it acts as a tool to inform the broader public about the potential ecosystem services of (semi-) private gardens. The platform also has an educational section where schools, STEM universities, or neighbourhood networks can download educational packages.
Through the MTL platform researchers can launch citizen science projects and invite users to participate in them. For citizens, MTL is offering a wealth of information on how to improve the natural value of their (semi-)private open/green space.
After registering and completing a short questionnaire, MTL users receive an initial score per ecosystem service (called ‘nature advantages’) for their own open/green space. In this way, they can better understand the value of their own open/green space in relation to the overall green and blue network. Based on this score, they then receive specific tips on how to increase the nature advantages of their own garden. As such, they are motivated to contribute to improving the overall quality of the Flemish and Brussels (semi-) private open and green spaces. Moreover, they are also triggered to investigate more and participate in citizen science projects in their own garden to help the research community get a better insight into what is going on in the ‘gardenlandscape’.
Type of project:
citizen science project (digital platform), realized with the support of Departement Economie, Wetenschap & Innovatie (EWI)
number of registered users: 40.988 (July 2022)
Location:
Flanders & Brussels
Date:
project launch: 2020, ongoing
Project partners:
Kenniscentrum tuin+ (Ersamus University College Brussels), Natuurpunt vzw, KU Leuven
Role:
project initiator, engagement of the project partners, lead writer of the project proposal, project supervisor (until June 2019)
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