“Citizen science” in practice

In 2015, ANIMA, in cooperation with the Sympraxis Team, implemented the National Wildlife Observation Network and the results showed a very significant citizen activation intervention for the protection of biodiversity. For instance, 12,288 unique users visited the project’s Facebook page, 3,618 users visited the project’s electronic platform, 1,202 people participated in project working meetings and seminar training meetings, 623 citizens enrolled in the National Wildlife Observation network, of which 254 people sent data on injured or dead wild animals. Lastly, 137 teams and communities participated in program actions aiming to inform and sensitize the public. For the first time, the project enabled citizens and agencies from all over the country to participate in a country-wide “Citizen science” program and provided primary data that grant an initial view on the main factors of human-induced mortality of wild animals and the extent of the problem in Greece.