Written by: Ann-Catrin Fender, UHOH | Mieke de Wit & Louise van der Stok, WUR | Tigran Keryan, BOKU | Anželika Dautartė, VMU

From 21^st April to 26^th June 2026, four ᴇNᴀBʟS partner universities took part in the ICA Biodiversity Challenge 2026 organised by Wageningen University & Research (WUR), joining a total of 16 universities across thirteen countries in Europe in a friendly competition to record campus biodiversity. Students and staff from Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), WUR, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), and the University of Hohenheim (UHOH) documented species on their campuses using the citizen science platform observation.org.

All participating institutions used observation.org to upload and share their findings, except for the Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU) who joined the competition using their own platform to record observations. This common platform allowed the universities to collect comparable data on plants, animals and fungi as well as to visualise species richness across different campus types and regions. In total they identified more than 4,200 species and made over 15,000 observations. Before and during the challenge, four online meetings gave all collaborating institutions the opportunity to exchange experiences at the European level, learn from one another, and contribute to making the challenge such a great initiative.

Biodiversity Challenge in Action

Exploring Nature on BOKU Campus: At BOKU University in Vienna, the ICA Biodiversity Challenge 2026 was embedded in a series of guided campus excursions and citizen science activities coordinated by the BOKU Biodiversity Cluster. Participants explored the Türkenschanze campus as well as the forestry experimental garden Knödelhütte, documenting a wide range of urban and peri-urban species using observation.org. Expert-guided walks led by zoologists, entomologists, herpetologists, and botanists enabled participants to identify and record diverse taxa, including pollinators, insects, birds, and plant species. Building on existing collaboration between the EcoServ and ᴇNᴀBʟS projects, EcoServ partners used their visit to BOKU University to jointly participate with the BOKU ᴇNᴀBʟS team members in Biodiversity Challenge activities, including guided species observation walks on the Türkenschanze campus.

Wageningen University and Research (WUR): At WUR, several WUR locations in the Netherlands were included in the BioBlitz, but activities – co-organised by students – mainly focused on the campus in Wageningen. Every week of May and June, an excursion or workshop guided by a student or staff member was organised. These included bird watching and a botanical walk, but also more creative workshops such as botanical drawing, colours in nature and writing with nature. There was also a direct link to the other activities in the ᴇNᴀBʟS Dutch Living Lab, as one excursion included a tour around the food forest, and two students guided by the Living Lab organised a session on Nature Connectedness.

At the opening of the Biodiversity Challenge, the outdoor photo exhibition ‘ever changing biodiversity’ was officially opened. This includes 18 photographs made by a BSc student, which show speciesthat have been observed within 15 kilometers of the campus over the past three years and whose populations are either thriving or declining due to human activity. Photographer Jan-Freerk Kloen stated the following: “To highlight the species found around Wageningen and to showcase all the wonderful things that can be found there, I was given the opportunity to curate a full-scale outdoor exhibition featuring 18 of my own photographs, which will be on display for at least six months.” What is most exciting about this Biodiversity Challenge, is that it is so connecting: it connects people to nature, but also to each other and to the place where they work and study.

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU): The VMU Agriculture Academy (VMU AA) team participated in the BioBlitz 2026 Biodiversity Challenge across the Academy’s designated areas, the initiative brought together university staff and students to document biodiversity, which encompass a wide variety of habitats. Even occasional observations were valuable, as a single record could help document a rare or seldom-observed species. In total, 22 team members submitted 2,148 observations and identified 1,021 species. VMU AA was one of eight teams to reach the target of at least 1,000 species and ranked eighth among 16 participating universities. The initiative supported biodiversity monitoring while encouraging the university community to engage in citizen science and gain a deeper appreciation of local biodiversity.

University of Hohenheim – signs, walks and student engagement: At the University of Hohenheim, the ICA Biodiversity Challenge was actively promoted across the campus. A total of 20 signs were installed at selected locations, providing short instructions on how to take part in the challenge and guidance on how to use the observation.org app on their own. They should encourage and inform visitors and students at the campus to look more closely at their everyday surrounding campus nature.

In addition, three “initiation walks” were organised, with mainly student participants and some citizens. During these walks, the participants were introduced the observation.org app and its basic functions where necessary. It was provided collection and observation materials such as magnifying identification materials, bug boxes and insect nets. Two guides supported participants in identifying and uploading species directly in the field. It was thought to be a low-threshold format that could help students to become familiar with biodiversity monitoring in practice and to see their own campus as a valuable habitat.

For ᴇNᴀBʟS, the ICA Biodiversity Challenge 2026 offered a concrete opportunity to link on the local level education, research and campus management. Thus, it was a practical example of how university campuses can serve as local “living labs” according to the Whole Institutional Approach (WIA) that is at the heart of the project.

• Students contributed real data that can inform future biodiversity and green space planning on campus.
• Teaching staff could integrate the challenge into courses and projects related to ecology, sustainability and nature-based solutions.
• The participating campuses demonstrated how simple measures – such as clear instructions, guided walks and a shared digital platform – can mobilise the university community for biodiversity action.

By taking part in a Europe-wide initiative, the ᴇNᴀBʟS partners additionally strengthened their collaboration with the other universities working on similar questions of campus biodiversity and sustainability. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to WUR for organising this amazing collaborative event and for forstering networking again within and beyond the ᴇNᴀBʟS institutions.