Across Europe, the OneSTOP Living Labs have been stepping out of the research setting and into town halls, libraries, and local communities meetings to engage citizens directly in the fight against invasive alien species. 

This February, the Portuguese Living Lab has been on display, holding a public session at the Municipal Library António Mota in Baião.

The event, organised jointly by the Associação de Municípios do Douro e Tâmega (AMDT), the BIOPOLIS-CIBIO research association, and the Municipality of Baião, brought together local officials, researchers, and residents to showcase how the Serra da Aboboreira has become a national and European case study in environmental innovation, participation, and monitoring.

Opening the session, Baião's Mayor, Ana Raquel Azevedo, highlighted the mountain range as one of the area's most valuable natural assets and reaffirmed the municipality's commitment to managing it "with science, innovation, and active community participation."

BIOPOLIS-CIBIO researcher Joana Vicente then introduced the OneSTOP project alongside the AlienSMART project, before attendees took part in an interactive exercise to identify and prioritise invasive species, giving citizens a first-hand look at the practical challenges of managing invasive fauna and flora. Participants also explored the broader ecological, cultural, and landscape value the Serra provides to local communities.

A highlight of the day was the presentation of CamAlien, a camera-based monitoring tool used in the OneSTOP project. Mounted on vehicles, CamAlien captures high-speed, geo-referenced imagery and uses artificial intelligence to anonymise and process data in the field. Local media reported that the technology is set to be deployed across the Serra da Aboboreira in the coming weeks as part of a research effort expected to run for 36 months.

The session was covered widely by regional media, reflecting strong local interest in the initiative: Câmara Municipal de Baião, SAPO, Marco em Sé FM, Val Sousa TV, and Nosso Território.