Regional project · Environmental monitoring
FuenAragón
Citizen science to discover and value the springs of Aragon
About the project
FuenAragón was a citizen science project to identify and characterise the springs and fountains of Aragon from a geographical, hydrological, ethnological and environmental perspective.
Aragon’s groundwater bodies have been mapped and studied, but many of the springs that rise from them have not, especially intermittent ones. Climate change is reducing their flow, and some disappear before the authorities even know they exist. Often, only local people know where they are and what their history is.
That is why the project brought this local knowledge into the research. Individuals, villages and associations, and schools from all over Aragon took part. By March 2023 the project had more than 100 participants (37 schools, 45 individuals and 15 villages or associations) and had begun analysing more than 750 springs and fountains.
FuenAragón was also an intergenerational project: it combined older people’s knowledge of the area’s environmental, cultural and ethnographic heritage with younger people’s skills with new technologies.
It was coordinated by CITA, in collaboration with the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC) and Fundación Ibercivis, and funded by FECYT and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Project objectives
- Identify the springs and fountains of the region of Aragon.
- Georeference, map and describe them.
- Characterise the traditional and current uses of the springs from a sociocultural and ethnographic perspective, through interviews with older people.
- Analyse water quantity and quality, using nitrate concentration as an indicator.
- Highlight the biodiversity linked to springs and the importance of keeping them in good condition.
- Raise public awareness of groundwater pollution.
- Publish the results in a map and catalogue of springs that recognises participants as co-creators.
The role of Ibercivis
Fundación Ibercivis worked with CITA and IPE-CSIC to develop the project. The Ibercivis design team built the layout of the project website, fuenaragon.com.
Our activities
- Field recording of springs with the CitiMApp Android app: location on the map, data form and photograph.
- Measurement of nitrates in the water with test strips handed out to participants.
- Materials sent to schools: methodological guides, nitrate strips and access to the app.
- Video interviews by young people with older people about the uses and traditions of the springs, with a competition awarding prizes for the most original, most informative and most charming video.
- Ethnographic survey on the uses and values of each spring.
- Support resources: a catalogue of the flora and fauna of Aragon’s springs, an educational video, infographics and a guide to workshops and activities for schools.
Project details
Type of project
Regional
Duration
01/07/2022 – 30/06/2023
Funding
Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) – Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Consortium
Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA, coordinator), Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC) and Fundación Ibercivis
Area
Environmental monitoring
