Impressions from Obergurgl | before the OECSK2019

Last week, the Austrian Citizen Science conference took place in Obergurgl, Tyrolia and we took the occasion to arrive one day earlier to visit the mountainside and get a good view of the impressive landscape surrounding the area.As Citizen Scientists, we always love to stumble apon new things to record and contribute in various scientific projects.

Alpine Citizen Science

In the alpine region, there are many opportunities for observations in various Citizen Science apps like e.g., spot flowers and other plants in Nature's Calendar, match the color of the soil in the Tea Bag Index App or to create a virtual measurement station in CrowdWater. Besides the fantastic view and many interesting findings, sadly the winter tourism in Obergurgl and Sölden takes its toll. Up to the top of the mountains, there is litter and relicts of the previous skiing seasons all over the place. We have documented these litter hot spots in the Dreckspotz App by the NGO Global 2000 and forwarded the information to the municipal administration for resolve.

Hiking up the mountains is an amazing experience and crossing the tree line, at which the ecosystem changes dramatically to a ground cover of lichen, moss and wild plants, is like a step in another world. Citizen Science is always also about exploration - and especially in a more remote area, new discoveries are always just a step ahead. And for fun, you can build a snowman in summer.