Going Public: The OPAL labs

A nationwide project is harnessing the curiosity of communities, raising environmental awareness and generating publishable data at the same time. by Sonia van Gilder Cooke It's a brief that might stump even the most cutting edge research group: to mobilise thousands of ordinary people, and get them to produce publishable scientific data. Yet that's exactly what Imperial's Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network is doing, by partnering top scientists with the public. In all corners of England, people are taking samples from ponds, counting bees and tracking aeroplane contrails. The fruits of that work will show up in peer-reviewed journals. And luckily, there's a lichenologist who's up to running it all. Dr Linda Davies (T.H.