Research Meeting on the Refuge Project: Kick-off and Mediterranean Insights (Seville, November 2025)

In November 2025, researchers from the universities of Seville, Münster, and Genoa met in person for the first time in Seville to launch their recently funded Seed Fund project, supported by the Ulysseus Consortium. This kick-off meeting proved to be crucial for building group cohesion, clearly defining short- and medium-term objectives, and establishing concrete deadlines for all ongoing activities. Following this successful initial gathering, joint efforts intensified to set the foundational structure for the project's upcoming international collaborations.

A field trip to La Corchuela Peri-urban Park offered the international team essential ecological context regarding the unique characteristics and management challenges of Mediterranean semi-natural systems. During the visit, the researchers examined the specific adaptations of local biota to the marked seasonal contrast of the Mediterranean climate, where ecosystems must cope with intense summer droughts and variable winter rainfall. The field observations provided a valuable practical baseline for coordinating the standardized sampling protocols and technical analyses that the team will implement across different urban and peri-urban gradients.

Over the course of the meeting, the participants worked intensively on aligning their respective research expertise, bridging soil ecology, vegetation dynamics, and biodiversity conservation. By clarifying the immediate milestones and task distributions, the seminar successfully consolidated the operational framework of the consortium.

The Refuge Project thus began its journey on a highly collaborative path, aiming to provide novel insights into urban and peri-urban habitats as ecological refuges and to foster strong, cross-disciplinary strategies for environmental protection within the Ulysseus network.

Citizen Science and Outreach on the Refuge Project: The Seville Bioblitz (Seville, April 2026)

In April 2026, the Refuge project celebrated a major milestone in its citizen science agenda by organizing a Bioblitz in Seville. A Bioblitz is an intensive, collaborative biological surveying event where citizens, students, and scientists work together to discover and record as many living species as possible within a designated area and time frame. This initiative sought to bridge the gap between academic research and the local community, fostering active public engagement in urban biodiversity monitoring and climate resilience awareness.

The event took place in a unique semi-natural environment: the campus of the Pablo de Olavide University. This location offered an ideal setting to study Mediterranean semi-natural systems and urban margins, characterized by a diverse mix of open areas, native vegetation, and transitional habitats. The Bioblitz was an outstanding success, drawing a vibrant crowd of over 300 participants. Together, this collective effort yielded a remarkable total of 604 biological observations, successfully documenting more than 300 distinct species of flora and fauna within the campus grounds.

To raise awareness and promote the Refuge project among the public, the team distributed custom screen-printed t-shirts and a newly designed informative flyer. This promotional material proved crucial for introducing the broader context of the project, explaining how urban and peri-urban forests function as vital ecological refuges, and outlining the long-term conservation objectives of our international network.

The Refuge Project thus continues to strengthen its community roots, demonstrating that citizen science is not only a powerful tool for large-scale data collection but also an essential framework for connecting urban societies with the protection of local biodiversity.

Research Meeting on the Refuge Project: Progress and New Directions (Münster, May 2026)

In May 2026, researchers from the universities of Seville, Genoa, Münster, and Bielefeld met in person for the second time—this time in Münster—to discuss the progress of the Refuge project and develop new research ideas. Following the successful launch of the Ulysseus Consortium in November 2025 in Seville, joint activities continued. Following the Bioblitz event in Seville—a citizen science initiative in which more than 300 citizens and students were actively involved in the research—another event is planned for end of June in Münster. What makes the Münster event unique is that it will be led by master’s students in landscape ecology - under the guidance of Nadja Pernat. Already during the preparation phase, a video message from Genoa by Paolo Giordani, the lichen specialist of the team, greatly inspired the students in Münster.

A special highlight was the field trip through urban and peri-urban forests across the city of Münster, which offered the international team insight into the site-specific ecological characteristics of temperate oak forests. The soil ecologist on the team, Ute Hamer, explained in particular the requirements to which organisms must adapt when living in sites influenced by waterlogging. Here, soils can become extremely dry during summer, while in winter they are often very wet and deprived of oxygen. In this context, Lorenz Ruhl presented first results from his master’s thesis on woodlice and millipedes, two groups that are particularly closely tied to soil conditions. Over the next two days, the team worked intensively on a review article and collaborated on developing ideas for another research project.

The Refuge Project thus continues on an exciting path toward gaining new insights into urban and peri-urban forests as refuges for numerous organisms and developing innovative strategies for their protection and promotion.

Science in Action for Urban Biodiversity: How We Celebrated European Researchers' Night with the REFUGE Project (Seville, September 2026)

To mark European Researchers' Night, we took our science to the community through an interactive day packed with learning, direct observation, and hands-on workshops. Here is a look at how the day unfolded step by step:

1. Science talks: Micro-refuges and ecosystem services

We kicked off the event with an introductory talk on micro-refuges in urban environments. We explained how these small habitat and thermal islands provide shelter for pollinating insects and other key organisms. We highlighted the crucial ecosystem services they generate—such as plant pollination, biological pest control, and soil health—and discussed how integrating these refuges into parks, patios, and rooftops is vital for sustaining and connecting biodiversity within our cities.

2. Uncovering the invisible: Observing edaphic meso- and macrofauna

Following the talk, we put theory into practice at the stereomicroscopes. Participants got a close-up look at soil samples collected just the day before right in the vicinity of the event location. It was a unique chance to explore the fascinating world of edaphic meso- and macrofauna: small invertebrates, mites, springtails, and larvae living beneath our feet that play a vital role in nutrient cycling and overall urban soil health.

3. Hands-on action: Seed bombs to build green corridors

Simultaneously, we ran a seed bomb workshop using the traditional Nendo Dango technique. By blending clay soil with a selection of native herbaceous plant seeds, every participant crafted their own seed bomb to take home. The goal is both direct and collaborative: by planting these seed bombs in gardens, balconies, patios, or rooftops, citizens help grow native plants that provide food and shelter for local fauna, actively contributing to the creation of an urban refuge corridor.

4. Building a home: Insect hotels

To round out the practical activities, we constructed three independent insect hotels using natural materials such as pine cones, reeds, palm leaves, and drilled wood blocks. Through these structures, we demonstrated how different urban species have unique shelter requirements for nesting and protection from cold weather or predators. Attendees learned how to easily replicate these micro-habitats at home, gaining insight into the natural design needed to support pollinators and beneficial insects.

The commitment of the REFUGE Project

This outreach event not only allowed us to bring scientific research closer to people of all ages, but also underscored that conserving urban nature is a shared responsibility. Every balcony, terrace, or garden can become a vital micro-refuge for biodiversity. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for European Researchers' Night and helped us build this green network!