Take a virtual walk on the wild side

Did you know that CERN is home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna? You can now embark on a captivating virtual tour of the CERN sites to discover the many species identified in a dedicated field survey carried out in 2022. Among them you'll encounter several threatened species, providing a unique glimpse into the sites’ ecological wealth.

Conducting regular surveys is crucial for maintaining CERN’s biodiversity. They allow populations of flora and fauna to be monitored and help identify zones of biological interest, where concrete protection measures can be taken.

The 2022 surveys concentrated on documenting flora, amphibians, insects and birds. The inventory of amphibians revealed that two protected frog species and two protected species of the newt family live on the CERN sites. The insect-based surveys focused on Lepidoptera (butterflies) and Orthoptera (locusts, grasshoppers and crickets), which serve as indicators of environmental quality. Remarkably, 62 species of Lepidoptera and 32 species of Orthoptera were identified across the sites. The flora inventory led to the identification of 13 threatened species, as well as of two new orchid species, bringing the total number of orchid species identified on the CERN sites to 18.

This virtual walk was developed as part of CERN’s comprehensive programme to prioritise and understand the environment, led by SCE in collaboration with HSE. It is powered by SCE’s Geographic Information System (GIS), where the survey data has been stored and which allows spatial analysis and meaningful visualisations, incorporating 3D scenes from drone images and videos to provide a fully immersive user experience. Future planned developments include an online platform where everyone can contribute their own observations, enriching our collective knowledge of the biodiversity of the CERN sites. This platform will also use existing sensors and surveillance cameras to augment the inventory, leveraging AI for automatic classification. Ultimately, the resulting database will facilitate the measurement of a range of factors that impact CERN’s biodiversity, including site evolution, works, seasons, weather patterns and more. This will enable us to assess the effectiveness of our actions to protect biodiversity and will deepen our understanding of the environment, helping us to better protect it.

Interested in finding out more? Click on this link and enjoy the journey!