+ATLANTIC researchers within the LandSeaLot consortium team up with Escola Azul (Blue Schools)
In May 2025, +ATLANTIC researchers at the Tagus and Sado Estuary LandSeaLot Integration Lab introduced the LandSeaLot project to basic and secondary school students, delivering small sensors for students to install in coastal areas and collect data on ocean temperature.
This collaboration is supported by Escola Azul (Blue Schools), who are working to build a network of schools and community partners to grow participants’ understanding of the interdependence of people and the ocean.
Sharing sensors
The students were introduced to the Envlogger: a palm-sized, disc-shaped sensor and companion smartphone app that can be installed in coastal areas to measure water temperature. Affordable and easy to activate, the Envlogger can be widely established and maintained by formally trained scientists and citizens alike.
Student training and community support
The training began with information sessions introducing 8th and 10th grade students at AE Anselmo de Andrade (Almada) to the LandSeaLot project and mission. In the afternoon, it was possible to install the sensor with a group of students in partnership with the Clube Náutico de Almada (nautical club) in Cacilhas.
A presentation was also held for 11th grade students at D. Martinho Vaz de Castelo Branco school, in Póvoa de Santa Iria. The President of the Parish Council, Ana Cristina Pereira, was present and will assist in selecting the location for sensor installation in the riverside area, together with the Avieiros Cultural Association of Póvoa de Santa Iria (ACAPSI) and the students, with sensors to be installed by June 2025.
Growing knowledge and building capacity
LandSeaLot’s participation in this initiative aims to engage young people in environmental observation, promote scientific education, and contribute to increasing ocean literacy.
At the same time, the data collected locally by students will help improve the understanding of the land-sea interface and contribute to the scientific objectives of the LandSeaLot project, including the capacitation of citizen science for scaling up observation and addressing knowledge gaps.
The collected data will be used to study marine heatwaves, enhance information in data-scarce areas such as the Tagus and Sado estuaries, and validate numerical models. Additionally, the data will be converted into standardized and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) formats and made available to all.
Resources
Tagus and Sado Estuaries System LIL Factsheet
Visit the LandSeaLot Citizen Science Hub – https://landsealot.eu/citizen-science-hub/
Discover the TSS LIL – https://landsealot.eu/article/land-sea-lot-integration-labs-spotlight-on-the-tagus-and-sado-estuaries-system-lab/
Learn more about Escola Azul – https://escolaazul.pt/
Discover the role of cost effective technologies like the Envlogger in LandSeaLot
Comments are closed