Although citizen science as a format is not new at all, it is definitely on the rise as a proper tool to support both scientific output and public awareness. By building a ‘community’ of researchers and citizens, a more integrative way of conducting research is being achieved. LifeWatch Belgium (VLIZ) has inspired, trained and consolidated a group of 80-100 citizens at the coast, who are now conducting the ‘SeaWatch-B’ surveys, and actively supports the annual ‘Big Seashell Survey’. Shells, fish, crustaceans, jellyfish and other bottom-dwelling animals are the target organisms in these LifeWatch coastal citizen science projects. 

Citizens can be very useful for the management of invasive species. In the Vespa-Watch project, citizens can report their sightings of nests of the invasive Asian hornet (Vespa velutina). Also, citizen scientists can help manage the large amount of sensors within the LifeWatch network. In the camera trap network, some camera traps are assigned to volunteers that check the status of the camera, replace SD-cards and upload the images to Agouti every month. Another type of citizen science tasks include the identification of species, e.g. on the camera trap images that are uploaded on Agouti.