What is citizen science?
Citizen science is the public participating “in scientific research activities when citizens actively contribute to science either with their intellectual effort or surrounding knowledge or with their tools and resources” (European Commission, 2014).

Who are the citizen scientists in RE-TASTY?
The students

What schools can participate?
Primary and secondary schools can participate.

How much does it cost to participate?
There are three different options. See section "How it works" for details.

Are there monetary incentives for students or for schools to participate?
There is no monetary incentives.

For secondary schools, can the project be part of the curriculum?
Yes, can be part of the curriculum in a subject such as Geography, Science, Biology.  It can also be implemented as an independent research project.

Does the project have to be part of the curriculum?
No, it does not have to be part of the curriculum. It can also be carried out as an extracurricular activity by the students.

How will the students benefit from participating in this citizen science project?
Involvement of the students in this project will give them the opportunity to better understand science within a meaningful real-life context and at the same time produce scientific knowledge on the topic of healthy and sustainable school food systems. They will be able to have an impact on the topic, develop their scientific skills and also act and raise awareness amongst school stakeholders.

How will the school and teachers benefit?
The school with its teachers will have the opportunity to use citizen science as a pedagogical instrument for the students so that they (the students) can approach the topic of school food from different perspectives as well as improve their scientific skills. The project offers flexibility as it can be integrated in different subjects.

What is the role of the teacher in this project?
The role of the teacher depends on how the project is being implemented at school and also by the age of the students. Usually the teachers offer some guidance to their students, especially during project design and data analysis/interpretation.

How much time does a student need to devote on this project? 
It depends on how the project is being implemented and in which depth.

How will the collected data be used?
Each school will have access to its own data that will be anonymised. The data will be used for the students to design their action. The data may also be publicised (e.g., in a scientific journal, a newsletter, etc.). The students (citizen scientists) will be acknowledged in any publication, if they want to.

Can a school participate every year?
That is a possibility, if the school would like to continuously improve and monitor its food system.

Where does RE-TASTY receive funding from?
RE-TASTY was funded by the IMPETUS Citizen Science Accelerator Program 2024 and 2025 (EU funds). Now, we are looking for funding opportunities and collaborations.

Are the research questions given to the students?
The main research question of RE-TASTY is ‘How can school food systems be transformed into healthy and sustainable?’. Also, each of the toolkits aims at answering a specific sub-research question. However, as a participatory project, we would like to take into account what matters to the students. So there is the flexibility for students to develop their own sub-research food-related questions (based on the WSFA model).

I am interested but I would like to have a meeting with you to discuss this. How can I arrange this?
You can send us an email at: info@retasty.nl
We will get back in touch with you to plan a meeting.

What is needed for the students to participate?
Usually, an informed consent from the parents/caretakers will be needed for the students who will participate in the project. A school approval in some cases might be adequate.