EUniWell Citizen Science Talks: How to build an applied history for agro-ecological transition?
A close connection between universities and their local communities is central to EUniWell. The EUniWell Citizen Science Programme supports new ways of involving people and technology in research, by drawing on knowledge and experiences that exist outside academia.
The programme highlights initiatives across EUniWell universities where civic participation plays a key role in both research and education – with the aim of promoting well-being and social engagement.
One of these initiatives is EUniWell Citizen Science Talks – an open lecture series exploring how citizen science can help us better understand and respond to societal challenges.
During autumn 2025 and spring 2026 EUniWell Citizen Science Programme will launch a series of seminars, Citizen Science Talks, on the theme "Citizen Science". Experts from universities in the EUniWell strategic co-operation (European University for Wellbeing) share their perspectives on citizen science across different areas of society.
About the lecture: Local knowledge of agricultural practices, landscape management and collective governance is essential for agroecological transition. Organic farming requires adaptation to local conditions, which in turn calls for the recovery and reinterpretation of vernacular knowledge.
In Europe, unlike in some other parts of the world, this knowledge is no longer living and must be retrieved through the tools of rural and environmental history. In this lecture, the speakers will present examples of collaborative research with communities in Galicia, north-western Spain.
About the lecturers: David Soto Fernandez is Associate Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Santiago de Compostela. His research focuses on rural and forestry history, environmental history, agroecology and social history. He analyses the transformation from organic to industrial agriculture, developing methodologies that apply the concept of social metabolism to historical and agricultural contexts.
Lourenzo Fernández Prieto is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Santiago de Compostela. He is Scientific Director of CISPAC (Galician Research Centre for Cultural Landscapes), coordinator of the HISTAGRA research group, and President of the Agrarian History Studies Society (SEHA). His research includes agrarian history, social history, technological change and memory, with a particular focus on contemporary forms of production in the organic agrarian economies of Atlantic Europe.
Organised by: University of Santiago de Compostela and Linnaeus University
Lectures are open to everyone who want to learn more about how countries work with citizen science in different areas.
Location: Zoom
Duration: 60 minutes, including time for questions.
Registration: No registration required.
More information on upcoming lectures in the seminar series will be published on a regular basis on Medarbetare.
Further information:
- To the EUniWell Citizen Science Talks overview page with more information about upcoming lectures.
- To EUniWell’s website for more information about the EUniWell Citizen Science Programme.
- Read more about EUniWell – the European University for Well-Being – on EUniWell’s website.