Candide: a citizen science project connecting biological resource centers and shared gardens

Abstract

The aim of the Candide project is to bring together Biological Resource Centers (BRCs) of the RARe Research Infrastructure and Shared Gardens under the ADAS agreement, the INRAE works council. It promotes a participatory science approach to enhance cultivated biodiversity. The BRCs provide biological resources (seeds, seedlings), while the Shared Gardens cultivate them and collect simplified agronomic data. This partnership offers mutual benefits, notably the valorization of collections for the BRCs, and access to original varieties for the Shared Gardens.
Candide has enabled us to pioneer a model for integrating participatory science into the enhancement of cultivated biodiversity, and to define avenues for improvement that are already inspiring other, even more ambitious initiatives.