DivEE: Empowering Autistic Learners through Citizen Science
Educating for inclusion and sustainability is not just a goal for the future, but an urgent need for today. This is the vision behind DivEE (Empowering Autistic Learners through Citizen Science), a European project that brings together environmental education, inclusive pedagogy, and citizen participation to create transformative learning experiences for autistic learners.
At its heart, DivEE aims to show how Citizen Science—the active involvement of citizens in scientific research—can become a powerful and flexible tool to support social and educational inclusion. By focusing on environmental issues such as biodiversity, waste reduction and plastic pollution, the project creates learning contexts where autistic students are not only participants but protagonists, contributing meaningfully to real scientific challenges.
The project is led by a consortium of five organisations from four European countries, each bringing expertise in education, disability inclusion, and sustainability. This transnational collaboration ensures that the resources and methodologies developed are adaptable to different contexts while remaining faithful to the principle of accessibility. As the partners themselves underline, DivEE is not only about creating tools—it is about building bridges between students, educators and communities.
Several resources are already available. The WP2–T2.1 Report (May 2025) provides a comprehensive overview of existing practices, challenges and opportunities in integrating autistic learners into citizen science activities. More recently, the DivEE Ebook (beta version, July 2025) offers educators concrete strategies, classroom activities, and examples of how to design inclusive environmental projects. Both documents highlight the importance of accessibility, participatory design, and the active role of autistic students in shaping their own learning journey.
The expected impact of DivEE goes beyond classrooms. By empowering autistic learners, the project also strengthens communities, showing how diversity can be a resource in tackling global challenges like environmental sustainability. At the same time, it provides teachers with innovative methods to engage their students and promote equity, empathy and collaboration.
DivEE is still in progress, but its message is already clear: inclusion and sustainability are not parallel tracks—they are deeply interconnected. By combining environmental education with accessible citizen science, the project demonstrates that when we create space for everyone’s voice, we not only enrich education, but also foster stronger, more resilient societies.
📌 Discover more and follow the project🌍 Website: www.divee-project.eu📘 Ebook (beta): ENG DivEE Ebook📄 Report WP2–T2.1: Download here📸 Facebook: DivEE Project🔗 LinkedIn: DivEE Project
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