CV Tim Kiessling

• 2021: Doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.). Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Kiel University (Germany). My dissertation was titled Plastic pollution of rivers : Citizen scientists investigate litter quantities, composition, and sources. It can be found here.
• 2011 – 2013: Erasmus Mundus Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. Joint degree issued by Ghent University (The Netherlands), Klaipeda University (Lithuania), University of the Algarve (Portugal), University of Oviedo (Spain), University of Bremen (Germany) and Pierre and Marie Curie University (France)
• 2007 – 2011: Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Biology. Bremen University (Germany).

• 2024 to date: Freelance researcher and citizen science consultant at Opaki – Participation in Research through Design, Kiel (Germany). Advising working groups and principal investigators to open up their research field towards public participation; researching procedural justice during the global plastics treaty negotiations; conducting workshops for doctoral researchers, postdocs and professors; creating material for teachers to get involved with citizen science; navigating start-up bureaucracy
• 2022 to 2024: Postdoctoral researcher at Kiel Science Outreach Lab of Kiel University and the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Kiel (Germany). Teaching a citizen science seminar for university students; conducting workshops for doctoral researchers and teachers; researching the relevance of plastic pollution data for decision-making
• 2017 to 2024: Researcher at Kiel Science Outreach Lab of Kiel University and the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Kiel (Germany). Conceptualizing, developing and implementing a large-scale citizen science program for school students (Plastic Pirates); researching plastic pollution in aquatic environments in Germany based on citizen science data; developing and conducting environmental education programs for schoolchildren
• 2014 to 2017 Researcher at University Católica del Norte, Coquimbo (Chile). Researching coastal plastic pollution based on citizen science data; conducting environmental education programs for school students; conducting samplings of macroalgae along the Chilean coastline; editing a book series on crustaceans

See my ORCID profile for an updated list. You can also visit my Google Scholar profile.

Publications with shared first authorship are highlighted with an *

• Thiel, M., Álvarez, J. B., Diaz, M., […], Kiessling, T. et al. (2023). Communication strategies in an international school citizen science program investigating marine litter. Frontiers in Environmental Science 11, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1270413.
• Kiessling, T., Lorke, J., Kruse, K., Brink, W. (2023). Citizen Science mit Schulen – ein Leitfaden mit 10 Empfehlungen für Projektkoordinator*innen. Bürger schaffen Wissen, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10137030.
• *Dittmann, S., *Kiessling, T., Mederake, L., Hinzmann, M., Knoblauch, D., Böhm-Beck, M., Knickmeier, K., Thiel, M. (2023). Sharing communication insights of the citizen science program Plastic Pirates – best practices from 7 years of engaging schoolchildren and teachers in plastic pollution research. Frontiers in Environmental Science 11, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1233103.
• Kiessling, T., Hinzmann, M., Mederake, L., Dittmann, S., Brennecke, D., Böhm-Beck, M., Knickmeier, K., Thiel, M. (2023). What potential does the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive have for reducing plastic pollution at coastlines and riversides? An evaluation based on citizen science data. Waste Management 164, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2023.03.042.
• Kiessling, T., van den Bogaert, V., Bawil, R., Çolakoğlu, J., Kruse, K. (2023). „Plastic Pirates–Go Europe!“ Lehrkräfte berichten von ihren Erfahrungen mit dem Citizen-Science-Projekt. Unterricht Chemie 194, https://elibrary.utb.de/doi/abs/10.5555/uc-194-2023_05.
• *Dittmann, S., *Kiessling, T., Kruse, K., Brennecke, D., Knickmeier, K., Parchmann, I., Thiel, M. (2022). How to get citizen science data accepted by the scientific community? Insights from the Plastic Pirates project. Proceedings of Science, 124, https://pos.sissa.it/418/124.
• Gusmao, J.B., Diaz, O., Gallardo, C., Hidalgo-Ruz, V., Kiessling, T. et al. (2022). Water Depth Water depth and mesoscale oceanography drive neustonic polychaete assemblages in the SE Pacific Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13929.
• Kiessling, T., Knickmeier, K., Kruse, K., Gatta-Rosemary, M., Nauendorf, A., Brennecke, D., Thiel, L., Wichels, A., Parchmann, I., Körtzinger, A. Thiel, M. (2021). Schoolchildren discover hotspots of floating plastic litter in rivers using a large-scale collaborative approach. Science of the Total Environment, 789, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147849.
• Thiel, M., de Veer, D., Espinoza-Fuenzalida, N. L., Espinoza, C., Gallardo, C., Hinojosa, I. A., Kiessling, T. et al. (2021). COVID lessons from the global south – face masks invading tourist beaches and recommendations for the outdoor seasons. Science of the Total Environment 786, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147486.
• *Honorato-Zimmer, D., *Kiessling, T., Gatta-Rosemary, M., Campodónico, C. K., Núñez-Farías, P., Rech, S., Thiel, M. (2021). Mountain streams flushing litter to the sea – Andean rivers as conduits for plastic pollution. Environmental Pollution 291, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143545.
• Rech, S., Bosco Gusmao, J., Kiessling, T. et al. (2020). A desert in the ocean – Depauperate fouling communities on marine litter in the hyper-oligotrophic South Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Science of the Total Environment 759, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143545.
• Urbina, M.A., Luna-Jorquera, G., Thiel, M., […], Kiessling, T. et al. (2020). A country’s response to tackling plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems: The Chilean way. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 31, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3469.
• Kiessling, T., Knickmeier, K., Kruse, K., Parchmann, I. (2020). Die Plastikpiraten – Teilhabe an echter Wissenschaft durch Citizen-Science. Unterricht Chemie 179.
• Cristi, M.A., Holzapfel, C., Nehls, M., […], Kiessling, T. et al. (2020). The rise and demise of plastic shopping bags in Chile – Broad and informal coalition supporting ban as a first step to reduce single-use plastics. Ocean & Coastal Management 187, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.105079.
• Kruse, K., Kiessling, T., Knickmeier, K., Thiel, M. & Parchmann, I. (2020). Can participation in a citizen science project empower schoolchildren to believe in their ability to act on environmental problems? in Engaging Learners with Chemistry (The Royal Society of Chemistry, Eds. Parchmann, I., Simon, S., Apotheker, J.).
• Kiessling, T., Knickmeier, K., Kruse, K., Brennecke, D., Nauendorf, A., Thiel, M. (2019). Plastic Pirates sample litter at rivers in Germany – Riverside litter and litter sources estimated by schoolchildren. Environmental Pollution 245, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.11.025.
• Eriksen, M., Liboiron, M., Kiessling, T. et al. (2018). Microplastic sampling with the AVANI trawl compared to two neuston trawls in the Bay of Bengal and South Pacific. Environmental Pollution 23, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.09.058.
• Eriksen, M., Thiel, M., Prindiville, M., Kiessling, T. (2018). Microplastic: what are the solutions? in Freshwater Microplastics – Emerging Environmental Contaminants? (Springer, Eds. Wagner, M., Lambert, S.), https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-61615-5_13.
• Kiessling, T., Salas, S., Mutafoglu, K., Thiel, M. (2017). Who cares about dirty beaches? Evaluating environmental awareness and action on coastal litter in Chile. Ocean & Coastal Management 137, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.11.029.
• Thiel, M., Hong, S., Jambeck, J., […], Tim Kiessling et al. (2017). Marine litter – bringing together citizen scientists from around the world in Citizen Science for Coastal and Marine Conservation (Routledge, Eds. Cigliano, J.A., Ballard, H.L.).
• Eitzel, M.V., Cappadonna, J.L., Santos-Lang, C., […], Kiessling, T. et al. (2017). Citizen science terminology matters: exploring key terms. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice 2, https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.96.
• Kiessling, T., Gutow, L., Thiel, M. (2015): Marine litter as habitat and dispersal vector in Marine Anthropogenic Litter (Springer, Eds. Bergmann, M., Gutow, L., Klages, M.), https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_6.

• Tim Kiessling, Arden Goodfellow, Tony R. Walker (1^st of September to 4^th of December 2024). Directed Study course at the School for Resource and Environmental Studies, titled “Why not deposit-return all plastic food packaging?”.
• Tim Kiessling, Tracey Woodhouse (9^th of September 2024) Event “Doodle your Research – An exercise in visual science communication” (Ocean Frontier Institute, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling (25^th of September 2024). Guest lecture for the Resource and Environmental Management course of Michelle Adams. “Research challenge: publishing data by schoolchildren” (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada). Lecture available at https://zenodo.org/records/13835058.
• Tim Kiessling (7^th of October 2024) Presentation “Reflecting on communication with teachers empowering their students in collaborative research projects” held for the TransCoastal Adaptations Centre for Nature-Based Solutions (online). Lecture available at https://zenodo.org/records/13871915.
• Tim Kiessling (8^th of October 2024) Presentation “Reflecting your own role as researchers in community science studies” for the Research Design and Methods class held by Kate Sherren (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada). Lecture available at https://zenodo.org/records/13921763.
• Tim Kiessling (8^th of October 2024) Presentation “Enabling schoolchildren to participate in research – experiences from a citizen science program in Germany” for the Community-based co-management class held by Rachael Cadman (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada). Lecture available at https://zenodo.org/records/13921892.
• Tim Kiessling, Maya Goldchtaub, Angela Gillis (10^th of October 2024). Plastic Pirates sampling with Cunard Junior High School at Williams Lake (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling, Maya Goldchtaub, Erin Delaney (16^th of October 2024). Plastic Pirates sampling with Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea School at Half Mile Lake (Timberlea, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling (17^th of October 2024) Presentation “Plastic pollution by textiles – citizen science as a solution?” Input for the Environmental Decision Making class of Laurel Schut and Nathan Ayer (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada). Lecture available at https://zenodo.org/records/13942649.
• Tim Kiessling (29^th of October 2024) Presentation “Communication is key in community science programs involving schoolkids and teachers” Input for The Community as a Living Lab class of Heather Cray (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada). Lecture available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14003194.
• Tim Kiessling, Maya Goldchtaub, Laura Washburn, Hailey Meade (30^th of October 2024). Plastic Pirates sampling with Rockingstone Heights School at Kidston Lake (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling, Maya Goldchtaub, Crystal Isert, Nicole Saulnier (5^th of November 2024). Plastic Pirates sampling with Leslie Thomas Junior High School at First Lake (Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling, Maya Goldchtaub, Tara MacDonald, Bria Woods, Neil Daigle, Beverly Anthony, Jennifer Blackburn, Kathy Laprise, Angela Akpan, Sarah Thorpe, Emma-Joy Swan (6^th of November 2024). Plastic Pirates sampling with Cavalier Drive School at First Lake (Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling, Maya Goldchtaub, Fiyinfolu Onososen, Elizabeth Cousineau, Parisana Low (12^th of November 2024) Plastic Pirates sampling at Chocolate Lake (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling, Maya Goldchtaub, Mary-Emma Murphy (14^th of November 2024) Plastic Pirates sampling with Crichton Park School at Lake Banook (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling, Maya Goldchtaub, Jasmine Figg, Claire McKenzie (15^th of November 2024) Plastic Pirates sampling with École Shannon Park School at Shannon Park (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling, Laurel Schut, Mike Lancaster (16^th of November 2024) Plastic Pirates sampling with volunteers from the St. Margarets Bay Stewardshop Association (St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada).
• Tim Kiessling (19^th of November 2024). Presentation “Can the Public Contribute to Plastic Pollution Policy-Making through Community Science? A vision for Participatory Legislation” Lecture organized by the Department Department of Information Science at Dalhousie University (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), Lecture available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14238270.
• Tim Kiessling, Haley Geizer (29^th of November 2024) Visual science communication workshop – research and outreach graphics using Inkscape (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada).