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 citizen scientists in RE-TASTY are the students.

What schools can participate?
Secondary schools can participate. We are also welcoming Year 1 students of Higher Professional Education Institutions (HBO).

How much does it cost to participate?
Participation is free.

Are there monetary incentives for students to participate?
There is a non-monetary incentive for the students who will participate as citizen scientists before the end of 2024.

Are there any monetary incentives for schools to participate?
No, there is no monetary reward for the schools that will participate.

Can the project be part of the curriculum?
Yes, it 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. We would appreciate feedback from teachers in order to improve RE-TASTY.

What is the role of the teacher in this project?
The students (citizen scientists) will be guided by the RE-TASTY team. The teacher is only expected to support in the process when needed.

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?
The first time a school participates will make an initial assessment of the school food culture together with an initial basic monitoring of the school food system. This can be repeated in following years, in order to continuously improve and monitor the food system.

Where does RE-TASTY receive funding from?
RE-TASTY is funded by the IMPETUS which is a project funded by the European Commission (European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme) to support and give recognition to citizen science in Europe.

How much time does a student need to devote on this project?
The students' commitment is expected to be about 6 to 8 hours during school hours. The collection of data and implementation of the results will take place outside school hours and is expected to take about 3 to 5 hours.

How much time does the teacher need to devote on this project?
The teacher is only expected to support the students when necessary. Depending on the involvement, the teacher will therefore be busy with the project for between 1 and 3 hours.

Are the research questions given?
The main research question of RE-TASTY is ‘How can school food systems be transformed into healthy and sustainable?’. However, there is flexibility for the students to develop their own sub-research question based on the WSFA model. Some standard questions, that will be the same for every school, will be included in the data collection tool.

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 the duration of RE-TASTY?
The project, as funded by IMPETUS, will last until mid January 2025. After that, additional funding sources will be found.

What is needed for the students to participate?
An informed consent from the parents will be needed for the students who will participate in the project.