Using the species/biota habitat data layers available on EMODnet, it is possible to build a user interface where members of society can see what sorts of life should be able to be found in their backyards (i.e. coastline).
As a base, this could be of interest to many people, but we can leverage this idea further by allowing citizen scientists to upload sightings they have made in order to validate existing species distribution maps, as well as creating entirely new ones.
With these new data, as well as the original data, the final goal would be to create a data platform/app that is paired with environmental data in the backend (e.g. air temperature, pollution, etc.) that calculates the environmental niches in which species are found. These are then layered on top of future projections for these data to be able to show users where in the future they might (or might not) see certain species.
Ultimately this would be a science communication tool about the effects of the changing climate+anthropogenic disturbances that people would approach on their own terms, thereby increasing the likelihood that it would connect to the users own sense of value in the natural world. One would hope that this could then be translated into feelings of empowerment to drive social innovation.
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