MAMBO project funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme kicked off in September 2022 and held its first consortium meeting in Aarhus, Denmark. The meeting was hosted by Aarhus University (AU) and welcomed around 25 partners from 10 partnering institutions in the project - University of Reading (UREAD), University of Amsterdam (UvA), Pensoft Publishers (Pensoft), The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), UK Centre For Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (INRIA), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (Naturalis), Aarhus University (AU), Ecostack Innovations Limited (EcoINN), as well as project officer Colombe Warin from the European Commission.

The two-day meeting started with an overview of the project aims and tasks by the project coordinator Toke T. Høye. It continued with  work packages’ expected progression of work in the next four years, which set the stage for discussing cross-cutting themes and synergies. During the kick-off the MAMBO demonstration sites were also presented and the necessary equipment for conducting remote sensing research of species was discussed. 

After outlining the communication strategy throughout the project as well as the specifics of data management, the kick-off meeting continued with a walk into Aarhus’ botanical gardens where project coordinator Toke T. Høye gave the MAMBO consortium an introduction into Danish flora. 

The MAMBO kick-off meeting had a strong group work component and the focus throughout the two-day event was on identifying areas for potential collaboration between different work packages. Stakeholder engagement, in particular, is a task heavily reliant on MAMBO partners’ input and expertise. 

As a project aiming to invent, build, evaluate, and promote tools for remote species monitoring, MAMBO’s key pillars in its work plan are co-design, stakeholder engagement, demonstration, and crowdsourcing.

MAMBO’s kick-off meeting was an opportunity for the project’s consortium to meet in person, discuss the current state of biodiversity monitoring and set the tone and trajectory of work for the next four years.