In the Tea Bag Index Citizen Science App, everything is about soil. Various observation categories are ready to participate in, from easy soil classification and testing to the well-known method of burying and weighting teabags to measure the decay rate of plants. Citizen Scientists are welcome to participate worldwide and contribute to improving climate models and soil research.

Drinking tea for the climate

The Tea Bag Index (TBI) collects data on soil observations and in particular on the dynamics of soil decomposition. The degradation of organic matter in the soil is part of the global carbon cycle, which provides information about the biological activity of the soil and is therefore important for climate change. Changes in carbon content in soil can both exacerbate and mitigate climate change.

Street lamps, light signs and illuminated buildings - light at night means security and nicer cities, but has also been shown to have negative effects on people and animals. The more artificial lights, the fewer stars you can see in the night sky. 

Counting stars for science

The "Stjärnförsöket" (the Star Spotting Experiment) project collects contributions about light pollution in Sweden and in partner countries. By pointing a cardboard tube in all cardinal directions, Citizen Scientists record how many stars they see at their current location. By these values, light pollution can be calculated directly in the Citizen Science app. How many stars can you see where you live? Wtih this app you can help scientists measure light pollution by counting stars in the sky!

The project is part of the "Forskar Fredag 2019" initiative, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 program.