ArcSolution has been hosting a webinar series exploring how citizen science can help address pollution and health challenges in the Arctic. To ensure that the insights and lessons from these webinars reach as wide an audience as possible, we are now publishing written summaries of each session. The first webinar, held on 13 November 2025, featured presentations from Anna R\u00f6nk\u00e4 and Jakob Strand, covering existing citizen\u2011science projects and new initiatives to track wildlife interactions with plastic pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cultural anthropologist Anna R\u00f6nk\u00e4<\/strong> (University of Oulu) presented a comprehensive mapping of existing citizen\u2011science initiatives dealing with pollution across the Arctic. She emphasised that citizen science is much more than data collection<\/strong>; it involves local people at every stage\u2014defining research questions, collecting samples and interpreting results. This participatory approach increases trust and ensures the research addresses local concerns. According to the ArcSolution overview, many citizen\u2011science projects exist but they are often scattered and short\u2011term<\/strong>. R\u00f6nk\u00e4\u2019s team created a map of ongoing initiatives and a gap analysis<\/strong> to identify knowledge gaps and to highlight where more research is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She noted that most existing projects focus on measuring pollution sources\u2014such as long\u2011range transport of contaminants, mining emissions and plastic litter in water bodies\u2014but that few studies link pollution exposure with health outcomes or incorporate Indigenous knowledge<\/strong>. To address this, ArcSolution is collaborating with institutions like the S\u00e1mi Education Institute (SAKK)<\/strong> in Inari, Finland, where students and community members plan to collect samples of reindeer organs, fish and water while participating in lavvu dialogues<\/strong> that combine scientific and traditional perspectives. R\u00f6nk\u00e4 also warned of research fatigue<\/strong> in some communities; many Arctic residents have been asked to participate in multiple projects without seeing tangible outcomes. Coordinated efforts and transparent feedback are therefore crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marine ecologist Jakob Strand<\/strong> (Aarhus University) introduced a new citizen\u2011science campaign launched by ArcSolution. The initiative invites people across the Arctic and Subarctic to document how animals interact with plastic pollution using the iNaturalist<\/strong> platform. Strand explained that current data on plastic\u2019s impact on wildlife are patchy and often based on incidental reports. By aggregating observations from citizens and researchers, the project aims to build a structured, verifiable dataset covering both harmful and non\u2011harmful interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The campaign, hosted on iNaturalist under the title \u201cPlastics & Wildlife in the Arctic, SubArctic and Northern Europe\u201d<\/strong>, asks participants to upload observations of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strand emphasised that anyone<\/strong> can contribute: local residents, hunters, fishers, scientists and tourists are encouraged to upload observations via the mobile app or website. Photos are preferred but not mandatory. The collected data will help identify geographic hot\u2011spots and inform management strategies, directly supporting ArcSolution deliverables on pollution and One Health. The campaign also aligns with recommendations from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), which has highlighted major knowledge gaps in plastic impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ArcSolution\u2019s first webinar underscored how community engagement<\/strong> can transform environmental research in the Arctic. Anna R\u00f6nk\u00e4 showed that mapping existing citizen\u2011science initiatives reveals both vibrant activity and significant gaps. Jakob Strand\u2019s presentation launched a practical opportunity for citizens to contribute data on plastic\u2013wildlife interactions through the iNaturalist platform. Together, the presentations demonstrated how citizen science can bridge knowledge gaps and foster inclusive, One\u2011Health\u2011oriented research in the face of pressing environmental challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re interested in learning more or contributing your own observations, you can watch the full webinar and explore the iNaturalist project page. Your participation could help scientists and communities better understand and protect the fragile Arctic environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ArcSolution has been hosting a webinar series exploring how citizen science can help address pollution and health challenges in the Arctic. To ensure that the insights and lessons from these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"coauthors":[25],"class_list":["post-956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=956"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":959,"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956\/revisions\/959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=956"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.nord.no\/arcsolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Key takeaways from Segment 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Segment 2: Using iNaturalist to track plastics and wildlife<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Key takeaways from Segment 2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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To sum it all up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n