During the last week of September, another citizen science event was held at the La Misericordia beach in Málaga, co-organised by MedCities, Málaga City Council and the environmental cooperative Ecoherencia. In the so-called BioBlitz initiative, participants searched Málaga’s coast and made observations of plants and animals, with which they contributed to MINKA’s mission - to build a participatory observatory platform, where researchers and citizens work together towards creating an inclusive and easily accessible biodiversity database. 

The beach activity followed after a group introductory session at La Térmica Cultural Centre, where participants were welcomed to a short briefing on how to use the MINKA app efficiently, along with an interesting seminar on local ecosystems and their biodiversity. The results of the event were impressive, rounding up to 60 successfully uploaded observations, leading to the identification of 24 diverse types of species, among which most were mollusks. 

Promoted by the ANERIS project, this event is part of a wider citizen science initiative, which aims to bridge the gaps in marine biodiversity data collection across Mediterranean coasts. In close cooperation with the Málaga City Council, MedCities will continue promoting citizen science through various similar events in the upcoming months. 

Details about the event and ANERIS’ participation were outlined in the September’s issue of the monthly MedCities Newsletter. Click on the link to find out more.