European Researchers’ Night 2026: taking science across Europe

European Researchers' Night 2026

On 25 September 2026, LifeWatch ERIC and its Distributed Centres participated in several initiatives of the European Researchers’ Night (#ERN), bringing biodiversity science, research and innovation closer to citizens across Europe.

  • Understanding the importance of marine ecosystems

In Lecce, Italy, the former Olivetani Monastery hosted a series of informative events, such as project booths, documentary projections, and small-scale reconstructions of extremely fascinating scientific experiments. The Marine SABRES project was present with a “Marine SABRES in Fairs” booth.

Visitors could test the Marine SABRES Serious Game, developed by LifeWatch ERIC as an interactive experience designed to explore the complex relationships between human activities, marine ecosystems, and human well-being, while reflecting on the choices and trade-offs involved in achieving a more sustainable future.

The event also featured the screening of “Tides of Balance”, the Marine SABRES documentary directed by Fabrizio Lecce, offering perspectives on the challenges and opportunities surrounding the sustainable use and management of marine ecosystems.

  • Exploring solutions for mine-impacted waters

The ERN in Huelva, Spain, included a series of activities, interactive labs, and dialogues promoted by the University of Huelva with the objective to bring science closer to the public. The RECUP-DAS project was there, and presented a workshop on “Ecological treatment of acid mine drainage”, through the Environmental Mineralogy and Geochemistry Group of the University of Huelva (one of the project partners).

The workshop introduced the technology at the core of RECUP-DAS: Dispersed Alkaline Substrate (DAS), a passive treatment system that can neutralise the acidity of water from mining-impacted sites while efficiently retaining metals.

The technology was developed by researchers of the Tharsis research group at the University of Huelva, and will be applied as part of RECUP-DAS in the surroundings of Mina La Poderosa, by building a new DAS treatment plant within the Tinto and Odiel river basins, historically affected by the presence of metals. A real-time monitoring system developed by LifeWatch ERIC will also support the creation of a digital twin of the treatment plant, demonstrating how digital technologies can contribute to environmental monitoring and research.

  • Learning about the herborisation of algae specimens

In Porto, Portugal, the ERN rolled out with interactive experiences, demonstrations with scientists, games, workshops, and much more. The Portuguese National Distributed Centre of LifeWatch ERIC is managed by PORBIOTA. In Porto, Portugal, PORBIOTA was represented by the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto at the European Researchers’ Night held at the i3S – Institute for Research and Innovation in Health.

As part of the “Bridges for Science” project, the team organised a workshop on the herborisation of algae specimens, offering participants a hands-on opportunity to explore biodiversity research and scientific collections.

Overall, participating in these initiatives across Europe has been a great chance to bring scientific work beyond the research community, where it can open a dialogue with citizens and show the value of biodiversity and ecosystem research to address environmental challenges.

Biodiversity and planetary health: presenting the Crete Declaration at the University of Lisbon

Doctoral Programme on Planetary Health

On 5th January 2026, LifeWatch ERIC’s CEO Christos Arvanitidis delivered an online presentation for the 4th Course of the Doctoral Programme in Planetary Health, organised by the University of Lisbon.
The 40-minute presentation titled “From Biodiversity to Planetary Health: Enabling Science for Societal Transformation” focused on the link between the course’s holistic approach and the “Crete Declaration” approach.

The Crete Declaration is a Declaration of Intent signed between LifeWatch ERIC and a group of Research Infrastructures and European projects and organisations. It takes its name from Heraklion, Crete, where the signing took place in the summer of 2025, during the BEeS 2025 Conference.

With this Declaration, the signatories committed to advance the One Health approach, promoting cross-domain research and integrated solutions. The core premise supporting this ecological-social continuum, which also underlies the common thread of the University of Lisbon Course, is that to address Planetary Health through the current poly-crisis, we need a concerted action.

The Doctoral Programme, in fact, aims at preparing students to tackle complex issues that cross ecological and societal boundaries. The three modules of the course (Adaptation; Transformation; Into Action) address critical global challenges at the intersection of health, environmental, social and political science, with the aim of fostering discussion and critical thinking through a wide variety of topics.

This was central to Christos’ intervention, proposing suggestions on how to turn biodiversity science into action: an ambition that requires a shift from fragmentation to integration of disciplines, data silos, and policy gaps.
An insightful round of discussions with the students followed the presentation, providing a mutual exchange that may inspire both the students and the future work of the Crete Declaration.

If you would like to contribute your perspective to the Crete Declaration, you can add your name here: https://www.lifewatch.eu/crete-declaration. We will inform you about future developments. Are you interested in applying for the Doctoral Programme in Planetary Health? The first round of applications runs from 12 January to 20 February 2026. All details are available here: https://www.ulisboa.pt/planetary-health-studies.

Join LifeWatch ERIC’s Thematic Services Working Groups

Thematic Services Working Groups

LifeWatch ERIC launches the minisites of the six Thematic Services Working Groups: hubs for knowledge and resources sharing, networking, and collaboration.

Co-developed by the LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities in collaboration with the National Distributed Centres, they reflect the main priority areas of e-Service construction, and therefore are central to the 2022-2026 Infrastructure Strategic Working Plan.

The Thematic Services Working Groups are coordinated by the LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre and pursue three main objectives:

  • Strengthen collaboration between and within the Common Facilities and the Distributed Centres;
  • Review and update the mapping of the National scientific communities’ research needs in relation to the Thematic Services, and identify priority areas for development;
  • Promote and coordinate the participation of Distributed Centre research institutions in Horizon Europe and other European and international projects, on behalf of and in collaboration with LifeWatch ERIC, to co-design and co-construct the priority services with other key actors in the biodiversity and ecosystem research landscape.

The initiative officially took off in 2024, marked by a series of Thematic Service Workshops hosted by the National Distributed Centres, engaging local communities from the start.

Today, we are glad to present the Working Groups on the website: six dedicated entry points, each focused on a specific topic and open for participation!
Each page offers a brief overview of the scope and objectives, as well as a timeline of activities, including some future actions already planned.

The activities in each group are led by a coordinator from one of our National Distributed Centres, who will oversee the follow-up of its activities.

Moreover, the abstract submission topics for this year’s ‘BEeS’, LifeWatch ERIC’s Biodiversity & Ecosystem eScience Conference, have been selected in alignment with those of the Working Groups, given that they had been previously identified as key priority areas by the National Distributed Centres.

What are you waiting for? Find out more about the Working Groups, join forces with fellow experts and contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem research!

LifeWatch ERIC & Marine SABRES at the Tropical Summit 2024

LifeWatch ERIC and Marine SABRES at Tropical Summit 2024

On 4-8 November 2024, LifeWatch ERIC attended the Tropical Summit 2024 in Lisbon to organise a “Marine SABRES in Fairs” event, being present with a stand in the “Biodiversity and digitalisation” section of the Exhibition Hall.
The event was a key opportunity to present our Research Infrastructure to the people stopping at our booth, highlighting its main services and tools, and presenting some demos on Metadata Catalogue and EcoPortal. We also proposed a survey we prepared for the participants, that people can fill as an additional form of engagement.

On this occasion, LifeWatch ERIC presented the project Marine SABRES, showing the project brochure, and the videos we produced in the framework of the project, with a special focus on the Macaronesia DA, where the climate of the islands varies from subtropical to tropical – a region that for this reason was even more connected to the themes of the conference. Here, the project is focusing on promoting a marine biological corridor between the Azores, Madeira and Canary archipelagos, especially paying attention to the management of migratory species like marine birds, mammals and big pelagic species like tuna. The benefits of ecotourism, and of conservation and restoration actions are also being evaluated. The booth promoted best practices and examples, fostered by the project’s approach, of sustainable use of marine resources and tourism, raising awareness on the importance of governance solutions to address the impacts of future economic and climate scenarios.

Approximately 50-70 people, including passionate university students and researchers, experts and representatives from the world of NGOs, start-ups and businesses coming from different tropical countries, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Colombia, India etc, amongst others, visited our stand and learned more about how to restore marine biodiversity and support a sustainable blue economy by increasing the uptake of ecosystem-based management. During the event, LifeWatch ERIC also engaged with some participants to promote its Serious Game School Competition (more information here).

Have a look at our photogallery, enjoy all the moments of this incredible event exploring sustainability, resilience, and inclusive growth!

The summit
The Tropical Summit 2024 was a truly inspiring global gathering: more than 400 hundreds of individuals, representing over 50 nationalities, came together under one roof to discuss, collaborate, and drive progress toward the 2030 Agenda goals. The harsh lessons of the past, in fact, evidenced in the many unfulfilled global agendas, underlined the imperative of not treating the 2030 deadline as a distant point in the time horizon, but as an urgent reality, which requires immediate attention.

The summit sought to embrace everyone who contributes to the sustainable development of tropical regions. Therefore, the main objectives of the Tropical Summit were to promote the transfer of knowledge, catalyse stakeholder engagement, foster multidisciplinary collaboration, and contribute to the co-creation of innovative projects, accelerating the implementations of concrete and robust solutions. The focus was on driving investments, forging new partnerships, and advancing multi-actor actions through South-South-North triangular cooperation across four key domains:

  • Planetary Health: Nurturing life within the global boundaries
  • Agricultural Development: Sustainability as a path to socioeconomic progress
  • Territorial and Social Transitions: Building resilient spaces and societies in every dimension
  • Human Growth: Empowerment and technology for the times ahead

Have a look at our photogallery, enjoy all the moments of this truly inspiring conference!

For more information, please visit Marine SABRES official website: www.marinesabres.eu

Watch our documentary trailers on LifeWatching WebTV platform: www.lifewatching.tv/tv-show/marine-sabres/

Bridging science, policy, and innovation at the last Thematic Service Workshop in Portugal

LifeWatch Portugal, in collaboration with all LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities and National Distributed Centres, organised the sixth and final Thematic Service Workshop at the University of Aveiro in Portugal on May 3. The workshop, entitled “Habitat Mapping: From Science and Policy Needs to Solutions”, aimed to explore the intersection of science, policy and innovative solutions in habitat mapping. It attracted a wide range of participants working in environmental conservation and data-driven decision-making.

The workshop had 14 online and 17 face-to-face participants. Alberto Basset from the LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre presented the LifeWatch Thematic Core Service (TCS) and explored habitat mapping initiatives. Julien Radoux, representing LifeWatch Belgium remotely, provided insights into habitat mapping practices in the Belgian context. Tiago Múrias of LifeWatch Portugal further enriched the discourse with his presentation, followed by a Q&A session.

During the World Café session, moderated by Ana Lillebø, Bruna Oliveira and Daniel Crespo, participants were divided into groups to discuss various topics. These included services inside and outside the LifeWatch ERIC, identifying community needs and requirements, and developing strategies for further integration into the infrastructure. This interactive session facilitated collaborative dialogue and led to the development of actionable strategies to advance habitat mapping efforts.

In the final session, participants discussed how the TCS could work with the broader community. Alberto Basset and Ana Lillebø concluded the day’s proceedings by emphasising the importance of the discussions and the commitment of all participants to contribute to the advancement of habitat mapping initiatives. The workshop allowed stakeholders to come together and exchange ideas, share their best practices and make connections that could lead to significant progress. 

To learn more about our Thematic Service Workshop Series, please visit the dedicated minisite: https://www.lifewatch.eu/thematic-services-workshops/

LifeWatch ERIC launches the 2024 Thematic Service Workshop Series

lifewatch eric thematic workshop

Last update: 1 February 2024

The LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Services, co-developed by the LifeWatch ERIC Common Facilities and National Distributed Centres, are a key component of the 2022-2026 Infrastructure Strategic Working Plan (SWP). They represent the key priority areas of eService construction in LifeWatch ERIC proposed by the National Distributed Centres.

Activities, developments and physical outcomes of the LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Services, as eServices, Virtual Labs (vLabs) and more complex and complete Virtual Research Environments (VREs), are planned to be coordinated by Thematic Service Working Groups participated by scientists from both the National Distributed Centres and the Common Facilities, with an overall coordination of the LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre.

The following main objectives are envisaged for the Working Groups:

  • Enhance collaboration both between and within the Common Facilities and Distributed Centres;
  • Review and update the mapping of the research needs of the National scientific communities regarding the Thematic Services and highlight the construction priorities;
  • Promote and coordinate the participation of Distributed Centre research Institutions to Horizon Europe and other European/international projects, on behalf of and in collaboration with LifeWatch ERIC, in order to co-design and co-construct the priority services with other key actors in the biodiversity and ecosystem research landscape, including the relevant communities.

For the launch of Working Group constitution and the promotion of the activities and developments currently running on each LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Service, a series of LifeWatch ERIC Thematic Service Workshops have been co-organised by the LifeWatch ERIC National Distributed Centres and Common Facilities. Each Workshop is then locally organised by a LifeWatch ERIC National Distributed Centre, engaging the relevant national community, with the support of the Service Centre.

Workshops programme by Thematic Service

Click the Thematic Service for more information. The agenda will be updated with new workshops soon.

A Dive into Parque das Serras do Porto’s Invertebrate Habitats

The park Serras do Porto in Portugal spans almost 6000 hectares across the municipalities of Gondomar, Paredes, and Valongo in the metropolitan area of Porto. It boasts a stunning array of natural wonders, including the mountains of Santa Justa, Pias, Castiçal, Santa Iria, Flores, and Banjas.

To better understand this region, which is so crucial for biodiversity, LifeWatch Portugal has published a free guide to invertebrates that includes 117 species observed in 6000 hectares of protected territory.

This guide is in two parts. The first looks at the challenges and needs of species conservation, providing valuable insights and guidance. The second part delves into the park’s landscapes, with photographs and information on the 117 species divided into 15 groups – including butterflies and moths, flies, beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers, crickets, bees, wasps and leeches. Sónia Ferreira, the content coordinator and researcher at Associação BIOPOLIS/CIBIO, explains that the purpose of this guide is to provide valuable and accessible information to people of all ages, whether they are using it as a reference at home or during a visit to the park.

The guide celebrates the diverse ecosystem and beckons nature enthusiasts, families, and scholars to explore the enchanting world of butterflies, grasshoppers, and other species that live in this regional protected landscape. Inside, you will find species like the European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) and the Kerry slug (Geomalacus maculosus), as well as invaders like the Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus). 

The guide also includes a chapter on the history of research carried out on the park, from the first observation by Spanish naturalist Ignacio Bolivar in 1887 to the legal creation of the protected area in 2017, which was written by José Manuel Grosso-Silva, curator of entomology at the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto.

Are you ready to explore the species that inhabit Parque das Serras do Porto? Then grab your boots and your guide, and immerse yourself in nature! You can find more information on this page.

The LifeWatch Community Platform is here!

LifeWatch Community

Roll up, roll up! LifeWatch followers and collaborators are cordially invited to the grand unveiling of the LifeWatch Community platform, now openly available to everyone! Who should become a member? Well, if you’re interested in biodiversity and ecosystem research, then you should!

The content of the Community platform will be widely shaped by its members, allowing them to create and contribute to forums, add opportunities, jobs and events of interest to the community, and hold meetings and collaborative brainstorming together with other members. These features are particularly well-suited to the needs of partners involved in European projects focused on biodiversity, who can benefit from the working groups as the perfect collaborative space.

Once a member of the Community, you can select your skills from a preset list, in order to facilitate linkages among the community. In need of a collaborator with a specific specialisation? Whether the keywords are data sciences, environmental sciences or biotechnology, simply carry out a search for the skills you are looking for to identify potential matches.

The platform is also a great space to learn about upcoming events. Of immediate relevance to the community is the upcoming LifeWatch ERIC Biodiversity and Ecosystem eScience Conference in Seville, for which interested persons can already submit their abstract on the Community platform.

While many aspects of the platform can be browsed without registering, we recommend opening an account in order to benefit from the full range of resources available. Sign up now to enhance the community experience for everyone, put your range of abilities and knowledge at everyone’s disposal, in a mutual and sincere effort to foster open science.

If you require any assistance with any of the registration process or functionalities of the Community, please do not hesitate to get in touch with communications[@]lifewatch.eu.

Head over to the LifeWatch Community!

Fortifying Spanish-Portuguese Cooperation on Technology for Research at IBERGRID 2022

IBERGRID 2022

IBERGRID 2022, the 11th Iberian Grid Conference, took place 10–13 October at the University of Algarve in Faro, Portugal. IBERGRID stands for the Iberian Grid Structure, federating computing and data resources across the Iberian area to support research and innovation. The theme of the conference was “Delivering Innovative Computing and Data Services for Research”, and LifeWatch ERIC had a strong presence at the event, with a presentation “EOSC Activities in the Environmental Sciences”  from ICT-Core e-Infrastructure Operations Coordinator Antonio José Sáenz on behalf of CEO Christos Arvanitidis and CTO Juan Miguel González-Aranda, as part of the EOSC tripartite event which took place on day 1, and a two-part workshop on “IBERLifeWatch” – focusing on a good practices approach for scientific, technology and innovation communities and on funding opportunities for Spanish-Portuguese cooperation on day 2 and day 4.

During the IBERLifeWatch workshop, LifeWatch ERIC was able to highlight its collaboration several prestigious research entities, with engaging presentations from representatives from FCT, CSIC, MIRRI ERIC, the University of Huelva, the University of Granada, the FCCN Unit, LIP, GBIF, the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, the Spanish government, the Junta de Andalucía, the Interreg Spain-Portugal programme, the LIFE programme, Estacão Biológica de Mértola, University of Porto, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, ADRAL, the University of Aveiro, the University of Minho and many more, as well as coordinators of the Spanish and Portuguese nodes of LifeWatch ERIC itself. State-of-the-art LifeWatch ERIC tools were presented, such as LifeBlock and Tesseract, alongside important ERDF projects in the region involving the participation of the infrastructure, such as SmartFood and Smart EcoMountains, as well as wide-reaching agroecology initiatives such as ALL-Ready. To learn about the technology underpinning these projects, please see the presentations below.

LifeWatch ERIC would like to thank event organisers University of Algarve, LIP, INCD and CSIC. The Iberian Peninsula is a biodiversity hotspot and it is key that synergistic initiatives and projects such as those mentioned during the meeting are maintained and expanded, and IBERGRID 2022 provided the perfect opportunity to acknowledge and reinforce cross-border collaboration.

To see photos from the event, please see our gallery.

Presentations from the IBERLifeWatch workshop are available below:


José Manuel Ávila | Innovation on Agroecology to support a transition to more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems

Kety Cáceres Falcón & Sofía Vaz | Funding European opportunities for ES-PT collaboration

Estação Biológica de Mértola | Presentation

Juan Miguel González-Aranda | IBERLifeWatch: A scientific, technology and innovation Communities of good practices approach

Pablo Guerrero, Jaime Lobo & Emilio de Leon | Improving the environmental monitoring cycle, remote sensing & space technologies

Rohaifa Khaldi | Application of Artificial Intelligence in the study of Ecosystems

Emilio de Leon | Early detection of invasive species using metabarcoding

Joaquín López | LifeBlock and semantic environment status and roadmap

Carlos Javier Navarro | Remote Sensing in ecology and conservation of mountain systems

Nuria Pistón | Ecosystem Services modelling in mountain systems

José Rodriguez Quintero | University of Huelva cross-border projects

Teresa del Rey | Improving connectivity between populations of the endangered Iberian lynx

Antonio José Sáenz Albanés | Tesseract

Antonio José Sáenz Albanés | Technical Presentations Report

Diego de los Santos | Spanish-Portuguese cooperation for the conservation of Iberian biodiversity

Ester Serrão | Biodiversity and Function of underwater habitats



Centro Internacional de Investigacion e Innovacion en Biodiversidad

Oficina Técnica de apoyo a proyectos FEDER LifeWatch ERIC con Junta de Andalucía

Parque Natural Los Alcornocales

Valorizacion de servicios ecosistemicos mediante plataforma AI

Unravelling Biodiversity in Parque das Serras do Porto

LifeWatch Portugal Biodiversity Day

To celebrate International Biodiversity Day 2022, LifeWatch Portugal and partners are organising a 4-day BioBlitz, from 19–22 May, in collaboration with Vila do Conde – Ciência Viva Center – and the Serras do Porto Natural Park (Parque das Serras do Porto). The first two days will be dedicated to school groups and the weekend will be open to families and adults.

Researchers from the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto (MHNC-UP) and the Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (BIOPOLIS/CIBIO-InBIO) are inviting everyone to step out into the wild and unravel the beautiful biodiversity of some of the most iconic natural sites in Northern continental Portugal, in the regions of Valongo, Gondomar and Paredes.

Among the taxonomic groups represented in this LifeWatch Portugal BioBlitz are micromammals, insects, vascular plants, bryophytes, amphibians and reptiles, birds and bats. All activities are free of charge and the data collected will be entered into the BioDiversity4All platform, a member of the iNaturalist Network.

The International Day for Biological Diversity commemorates the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity on May 22, 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit. This United Nations-sanctioned international day reminds us that despite all our technological advances, humanity is completely dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems for our water, food, medicines, clothes, fuel, shelter and energy, just to name a few. The International Day for Biological Diversity theme for 2022 is “Building a shared future for all life”. The slogan invites the global community to re-examine its relationship with the natural world and emphasises that biodiversity is the answer to sustainable development challenges.