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Poster Short Abstract

How can citizen science bridge the gap between coastal climate adaptation and citizens' everyday lives? Drawing on the ClimateBlue project, we present how citizen science can generate a deeper, more meaningful understanding of citizens' experiences on the Baltic coasts of Denmark and Germany.

Poster Abstract

Climate adaptation in coastal areas poses not only technical challenges, but also complex sociopolitical ones. The impacts of climate change push communities to negotiate the (im)possibilities of coastal protection in the context of dynamically changing environmental conditions, biodiversity, livelihoods, costs, and ultimately, the values of coastal living. Conventional forms of citizen involvement, such as consultation, can be insufficient as they fail to capture what people cannot articulate: the 'unknown unknowns' of risk perception, complex relationships, everyday experiences and place-based attachments.

The Interreg project ClimateBlue aims to co-create long-term adaptation strategies for the Baltic Sea coast in Denmark and Germany in the face of future challenges, using citizen science. We combine participatory data collection (e.g. story mapping of coastal experiences, intergenerational interviews and interactive workshops) with dialogical processes. This approach enables citizens to share and reflect on their experiences and recognise the plurality of perspectives held by neighbours, local authorities, scientists and non-human coastal actors, such as local biodiversity.

Through citizen science, we aim to capture not only lived experiences and sociocultural values, but also connect the complexity of coastal climate change and adaptation (the interaction of climate, sea, land, biodiversity, science and politics) with citizens' everyday lives in coastal communities. Our poster will present the citizen science activities developed in the project, along with the initial findings and the challenges encountered. We will also discuss citizen science as a bridge between knowledge production, public engagement and coastal governance.