Terms and Conditions for Participating in the Citizen Science Campaign

• Open Data Sharing

  By joining this campaign and using the app, you agree that the data you collect (not including your personal information) will be shared openly with researchers and the public as part of a global dataset.

• Account Benefits

  If you create an account in the app, you can:

  • Enter a prize draw
  • Access and download your own measurements from the campaign website Just log in with your account details to view and download your data.

• Anonymous Participation

  If you use the app without creating an account, your data will still be uploaded—but anonymously. You won’t be entered into the prize draw or be able to view your individual measurements later.

• What Happens After the Campaign

  After the campaign ends, IIASA will:

  • Review and clean all the data
  • Create the final dataset
  • Publish it in an open-access data repository (like Zenodo) with a DOI (Digital Object Identifier)

• Why Publishing Matters

  Publishing the dataset helps other researchers find, use, and properly cite the data. The citation link will be shared on the campaign website so everyone can follow its impact.

• Recognition of Contributions

  We value both citizen scientists and researchers. IIASA will:

  • Ensure that citizens' contributions are acknowledged in publications and presentations
  • Share updates on the campaign results and how the data is used, on our website and social media This way, you can see the real-world impact of your efforts.

• Data Quality Checks

  Citizen-collected data can sometimes include mistakes. That’s normal! IIASA will review and categorize the data by quality before publishing, using several data-cleaning steps to improve accuracy.

• Where You Can Measure

  In some countries, it's not allowed to share data from private forests. IIASA is not responsible for where you choose to measure.

  To stay safe and within the rules, we recommend measuring trees in public parks. If you're in a forest, make sure it's either public or that you have permission to measure there.

• Responsibility

  By using the app and joining the campaign, you agree that IIASA is not responsible for where or how you use the app and the tree-measuring quest.

• Fair Recognition for Everyone Involved

  We believe that both researchers and citizen scientists deserve credit for their contributions. While data citations often highlight the work of researchers involved in analyzing and publishing the dataset, IIASA is committed to recognizing the essential role of citizen scientists as well. To help prevent any imbalance in recognition:

  • Citizens’ efforts will be clearly acknowledged in all related publications and presentations.
  • Campaign updates, results, and how the data is being used will be regularly shared on the campaign website and social media.

In this campaign, the role of the citizens is only to collect the data. The role of researchers is to develop the mobile app, organize and promote the campaign, communicate with citizens, organize and distribute prices, establish data storage infrastructure, curate data, share data openly, analyze the data, and finally prepare scientific publications from the data analysis.

This way, everyone—whether collecting data in the field or curating it behind the scenes—can see the value of their contribution and how it supports science.