The Monsoon Croaks is a community-driven project aimed at documenting and studying the diverse frog population of Kerala. The first year (2023) Monsoon croaks have been successfully completed, cheers to the effort of Citizen scientists! Annual report (2023) is available at the resources page. By actively participating in this initiative, you contribute valuable data that helps researchers, scientists, and conservationists make informed decisions to safeguard these fascinating creatures. As a volunteer frog mapper, you will learn to identify different frog species, document their calls, note their behaviour, and record important ecological data. Your observations contribute to the creation of comprehensive databases that aid ongoing research and conservation efforts. Know More

We firmly believe in nurturing students' interest in exploring and preserving our environment and its diverse biodiversity. Dr. Gafoor Memorial MES Mampad College, a prestigious autonomous institution in Kerala, hosted a workshop on citizen science, which was followed by the official launch of the Biodiversity Internship Program and the inauguration of the Citizen Science Club. The workshop on citizen science for biodiversity was led by Dr. Balakrishnan Peroth, Head of the Department of Wildlife Biology at KFRI and coordinator of the Centre for Citizen Science and Biodiversity Informatics. The event saw the participation of faculty members and dignitaries from various departments, with Dr. Anoop Das, Head of the Department of Zoology at MES Mampad College, acting as the facilitator. Dr. Manzur Ali P P, Principal of the institute, inaugurated the biodiversity internship program organised by KFRI-Centre for Citizen Science and Biodiversity Informatics. The citizen science club at MES Mampad College was inaugurated by Dr. Muhammed Abdul Rafeeq K U, Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology. Know More

Centre for Citizen Science and Biodiversity Informatics (CCSBI) organised a workshop on ‘Biodiversity assessment and introduction to ‘iNaturalist’ a citizen science platform’. This workshop was arranged in collaboration with the Nature club, Sree Vivekananda College, Kunnamkulam, aimed at students and faculties who were interested in participating and organising biodiversity assessments in the campus. The workshop kicked off with a brief introduction to the need of biodiversity documentation and ‘iNaturalist’ platform and the mobile application. Know More

CCSBI’s institutional biodiversity assessment program aims to map and understand the local biodiversity, with the goal of fostering scientific literacy among the local population. The local bodies are also mandated to document the biodiversity. To foster this, we conducted a workshop on biodiversity documentation using digital tools at the Vallachira Grama Panchayath in Thrissur District. The workshop covered the importance of biodiversity, sustainable use and digital tools to document biodiversity. Following this, a project using the iNaturalist platform, which allows the documentation and mapping of biodiversity was developed. Following this a survey was organized for the participatory mapping of biodiversity. The program has turned people like students, housewives, labourers and others into citizen scientists with the help of smartphones, promoting local biodiversity assessment. Know More