Transformative Citizen Science for Sustainability

Monica Mars serves as Associate Professor at Wageningen University's Division of Human Nutrition and Health, where she specializes in understanding the relationship between food properties, eating behavior, and human health. After completing her Master's and PhD at Wageningen University, she has established herself as a leading researcher in nutritional science, focusing on the physiological mechanisms of food intake and satiation. Her research examines how non-nutritional properties like taste and texture influence eating behavior, with particular emphasis on oral and gastric physiology. As coordinator of Work Package 8 in the BigO project, she has helped gather data from over 20,000 children across multiple countries to study childhood obesity, demonstrating the potential of citizen science in nutrition research. She currently develops digital tools and novel approaches to measure eating behavior, including apps, sensors, and citizen science methodologies. Through her work on the "Basic Sensory Science" open textbook and involvement in various research projects, she aims to bridge the gap between food technology and nutrition research, ultimately helping people improve their eating behavior and quality of life. Her expertise spans from fundamental research on satiation mechanisms to practical applications in weight management and public health interventions.

Daniele Tubino de Souza serves as a postdoctoral researcher at Wageningen University's Water Resources Management group, where she combines her background as an architect and urban planner with expertise in environmental sciences. Her research focuses on understanding social and transformative learning processes in environmental contexts, particularly within riverine communities. She currently coordinates the Riverhood and River Commons projects while serving as content coordinator for the WUR MOOC on Transformative Citizen Science for Sustainability. Her work examines how learning-oriented practices can support innovative action plans for bio-inspired regenerative design of degraded riverscapes and promote socio-environmental justice. Her recent research includes exploring territory-based learning for urban sustainability and developing theoretical frameworks based on Maturana and Freire's work. Through her involvement in action-oriented research projects, she investigates how citizen science initiatives and grassroots movements can contribute to environmental regeneration and social transformation, particularly in urban stream contexts. Her latest publication in Water (2024) examines pathways to enhance social learning processes in water struggles, demonstrating her commitment to understanding how community-based approaches can address complex environmental challenges.

Eira Carballo Cárdenas serves as a lecturer in the Environmental Policy group at Wageningen University, where she combines her background in marine biology with expertise in environmental governance and citizen science. After training as a marine biologist with specializations in aquaculture, fisheries, and microalgae biotechnology, she has focused her research on the human dimensions of marine environmental issues, particularly the co-production of knowledge for marine conservation. Her PhD research examined citizen science practices in coral reef conservation in the Dutch Caribbean, investigating motivations for participation and the democratizing potential of digital technologies in environmental monitoring. Her influential work includes comprehensive studies of marine restoration governance, particularly examining the role of citizen science in invasive species management and coral reef conservation. She currently contributes to the MOOC on Transformative Citizen Science for Sustainability, sharing her expertise on knowledge co-production and digital technologies in environmental governance. Her research has gained significant recognition, with over 500 citations, establishing her as a leading voice in marine governance, protected areas, and environmental policy. Through her work, she emphasizes the importance of inclusive approaches to environmental knowledge production and the potential of digital tools to democratize environmental monitoring and conservation efforts.

Annemarie van Paassen serves as Associate Professor at Wageningen University's Knowledge, Technology and Innovation group, where she combines academic expertise with extensive field experience in development practice. After years working in community development and agricultural advisory services, she has established herself as a leading voice in participatory innovation and digital agriculture. Her research portfolio spans citizen science, digital platforms for agricultural extension, and inclusive innovation processes, with particular focus on the Environmental Virtual Observatories for Connective Action (EVOCA) project in Africa. She investigates how political-institutional structures influence innovation processes, especially in agricultural food systems, while exploring the potential of digital technologies to promote inclusive development. Her recent publications examine knowledge sharing in agricultural advisory systems, digital farm monitoring through smartphone platforms, and innovation intermediation in Ghana's agricultural extension system. Through her teaching and research, including contributions to the MOOC on Transformative Citizen Science for Sustainability, she continues to advance understanding of how to shape communication, collaboration, and co-creation in ways that serve marginalized stakeholders' interests while promoting responsible innovation in life science domains. Her work emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluation approaches that help assess both intended and unintended impacts of research and innovation activities, ensuring improved societal outcomes.

Arjen Wals serves as Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability at Wageningen University, where he holds the UNESCO Chair of Social Learning and Sustainable Development. His research focuses on designing transformative learning processes that enable sustainable living through critical thinking and meaningful engagement. After earning his PhD, he has built an impressive career spanning multiple institutions, including visiting professorships at Norwegian Life Science University and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, and received an Honorary Doctorate from Gothenburg University in 2020. His scholarly impact is evidenced by over 22,000 citations of his work, including influential publications on sustainability in higher education, transformative social learning, and environmental education. His recent work examines how to create conditions that support new forms of learning by leveraging diversity, creativity, and resourcefulness in addressing sustainability challenges. Through his UNESCO Chair position (2009-2024) and leadership in projects like Whole Schools Approaches to Sustainability, he continues to influence global discourse on education for sustainable development. He currently leads the MOOC on Transformative Citizen Science for Sustainability and maintains an active blog on sustainability education developments at transformativelearning.nl. His central research question explores how to create conditions that support learning forms that harness untapped diversity and creativity in pursuit of a more sustainable world.