

#4 Citizen Science in Action: Flow Project
Small streams often go unnoticed, but they tell us a lot about the health of entire ecosystems. FLOW is a Germany-wide citizen science project that brings together scientists and local communities to monitor the condition of these freshwater systems. Led by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the project trains volunteers, schools, and environmental groups to collect data on water quality, biodiversity, habitat structure, and pollution in local streams. In this episode, we speak with Louisa-Marie von Plüskow and Roland Bishof about how FLOW turns citizens into field researchers, fills critical gaps in freshwater data, and helps bring stream conservation closer to the people who live alongside them.


