During the first day of the PartWiss 2025 conference, Doris Knoblauch delivered a presentation on the Europe-wide citizen science project 'Plastic Pirates – Go Europe' as part of the 'Participatory Approaches to Shaping the Science-Policy Interface' thematic session.

During her presentation, she explored the intersection of natural and social science methods within the project. Using studies of the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts as an example, she showed how school classes in Kiel, St. Peter-Ording, Rostock and Flensburg had collected data on plastic pollution, before discussing the causes, responsibilities and possible solutions in focus groups.

The presentation demonstrated that citizen science generates scientific data and promotes environmental awareness and participation. Exciting findings on young people's perceptions of the plastic problem were presented, along with methodological insights into the research process. It was surprising, for example, how aware young people are of the extent and global implications of plastic waste pollution.

The presentation was one of six contributions in the session, which together demonstrated the importance of participatory and transdisciplinary research in giving vulnerable groups a voice and strengthening the links between science and society.

During the subsequent discussion, it became apparent that some questions remain unanswered. For instance, what is the representativeness, legitimacy and actual effectiveness of transdisciplinary research? Does it really lead to better results, or does it merely lead to new forms of dialogue?