selfie of Janne at the meeting in Spain (photo: Janne Liburd)
We are delighted that the mid-term review meeting on 13th November in Spain went really well, and we received very positive feedback from the Water4All Follow-up Secretariat.
A big thanks to Janne Liburd, our former WP1 member, who represented ISOSCAN and delivered a fantastic presentation – truly a collaborative effort from the whole team. The reviewers’ comments were encouraging, and they were especially impressed by our website.
One of the reviewers, Amanda Lofgeen, even said: “All projects should do like we do…” and praised the ISOSCAN website “fantastic and very motivating.”
Well done and congratulations to the entire ISOSCAN team!
After a successful pilot campaign around Tromsø last season, the team got their heads back together this fall for our annual meeting, got ‘locked up’ in a converted prison hotel in Stockholm to complete the necessary mid-term reporting and plan the coming field season. We kicked off the meeting with a creative icebreaker: using LEGO bricks to represent each other’s work packages. Each construction sparked discussions about how our different tasks interconnect — and reminded us that some crucial roles, like admin and project management, may not always be visible but are essential for keeping the project running smoothly.
Following the arrows, starting with a pile of Lego to construct different parts of the project the hydrological cycle, data and literature, laboratory, citizen science, snow and water sampling
The ISOSCAN team ‘imprisoned’ in Stockholm
While online meetings keep us connected, meeting in person remains invaluable for deeper discussions, better coordination, and strengthening our sense of team spirit. Most of all, it’s simply enjoyable to spend time together and get to know the people behind the research. We are now preparing sampling kits and scaling up the campaign for the upcoming season. There will be sampling campaigns involving a Finnish school, science institutes in SE Norway and citizen sampling in and around Tromsø. Stay tuned for updates by subscribing to our Newsletter!
Text: Benjamin Fischer, Costijn Zwart, Harald Sodemann Photo credit: Benjamin Fischer, Costijn Zwart
Even though the project has a strong winter focus, there was plenty of activity this summer. Beside growing our dataset, Cos and Benjamin attended the CS4Water Conference in Delft, a global gathering dedicated to advancing citizen science for water research and management. Alongside learning from experts from around the world, they proudly presented the ISOSCAN project in the conference’s poster session — sharing insights into how our team combines citizen science with isotope hydrology to better understand water processes across Fennoscandia including the isotope sampling kit our citizen scientist used to collect snow.
The conference offered a great opportunity to exchange ideas on best practices, common challenges, and innovative developments in citizen science. Just as valuable was the chance to meet and connect with the inspiring and welcoming citizen science community.
As the perfect ending to an already exciting event, the ISOSCAN team was honored with the MacGyver Award for DIY Brilliance 🎉 — celebrating our creative, hands-on approach to scientific problem-solving!
Text: Benjamin Fischer, Costijn Zwart
Costijn & Benjamin presenting ISOSCAN poster at the conference (photo: Costijn)
