Be part of the MowingQuest Movement
Learn how to participate in the MowingQuest campaign and contribute valuable data to grassland mapping research.
How to join?
Start here
Contributing data for the MowingQuest is easy! High quality quests may require a little attention but don't worry, as inside the Geo-Quest app you will find lots of guidance on how to do this.
1. Download Geo-Quest
Download the Geo-Quest mobile app from Google Play or Apple Store
2. Start the MowingQuest
Once inside the app, select the MowingQuest and follow the instructions. Look for the links to the training materials in Geo-Quest and on this page and you will be ready in no time!
3. Start Mapping
Every (verified) location you submit will earn you points! See the sections below details and rules
Leaderboard
Incentives
MowingQuest incentives
To engage as many participants during the campaign we have envisioned an incentives system, based on the points obtained when quests submitted are approved (see game mechanics section below). The incentives are described below. NOTE: During 2026, we will be running a system-test mini campaign. In this campaign, your participation will help us tune the system for the main campaign that will take place during the mowing season in 2027. The incentives and characteristics here mentioned mostly apply for the 2026 campaign and will be updated for 2027.
Contribution to science
We believe that, as a community supporting science, the main incentive to join MowingQuest is to become part of the ongoing Europe-wide efforts to produce high quality data sets that best represent the observed conditions in the field, helping draw the best maps that in turn will be helpful for society.
Co-advertisement
Local organizations that join the MowingQuest can contact us to be featured in the project page as collaborators with the project and their logo will be included there.
Digital achievements (in progress)
As participants advance in the submission of quests and increase their number of points, digital achievements will be shown to provide a sense of milestones and recognize their efforts. Approved (high-quality) quests accumulate points in your account that will allow you to reach progressive milestone achievements.
Leaderboard
The in app point system paired with the quality evaluation of the contributions will allow us to quantify and display individual efforts in the app and on our website.
Physical certificates
Additional physical certificates will be sent to contributors with high quality/quantity of quests submitted at the end of the campaigns.
Scientific data paper
Top contributors (high quality and quantity of quests) will be invited to co-author a scientific data descriptor paper at the end of 2027. Please note that invitation does not guarantee co-authorship, as active involvement on the write-up process is expected.
Prizes
Additionally, and to symbolically recognize the time and effort employed by the participants, IIASA will sponsor an end of campaign raffle in 2026 and another in 2027. In 2026, the raffle will consist of two main prizes, i.e. two Garmin GPS enabled watches. Any app user will have a chance to win one of these prizes, as each approved quest will count as one raffle ticket. The more high-quality quests, the more chances of winning! Once the campaign closes (end of mowing season - foreseen at the end of September) all participants will be notified, and the raffle will take place. Winners will be announced on October 15th on the project website and notified personally to arrange prize delivery.
Campaign Rules
Game mechanics
How to triumph on Mowing Quest
As you visit and report on mowing events using the MowingQuest, you will be contributing in a very direct way to monitoring the grassland environments across Europe by providing on-site data that will improve grassland maps, helping to solve issues such as food insecurity and biodiversity decline.
You can contribute data in two ways
1. Visiting target locations
Visit and submit quests in the locations shown on the map, also called Target Locations. Each of these locations has a number of points you can collect, marked on the point itself. The rewards change, so be ready to capture the highest number of points!
2. Reporting mowing anywhere
You can submit a quest anywhere as long as a mowing event is happening (or happened very recently). These quests are called Opportunistic Locations and have a value of 100 points each.
Review system
No matter whether target or opportunistic, once a quest is submitted, it will go to a semi-automated near real time review and feedback system. If the quest is approved, you will earn points. Even if it is rejected you will get feedback to help you gain those points on the next quest. The review may take up to 24 hours and is done by consortium experts.
Number of points and revisiting
If an opportunistic quest is submitted for the same plot or parcel where a target location is available, the points allocated to the contributor will be the minimum offered at that location. The same participant can visit the same location only once every 3 days, but you may get bonus rewards for revisiting!
How to get quests approved?
To get the points for a submitted quest, its quality must be good. Our experts will put particular emphasis on: a) Image Quality: the pictures or video submitted are centered, not blurred, showing 2/3 landscape, 1/3 horizon b) Image Usability: the pictures or video submitted show clearly the event being reported c) Quest Consistency: the answers and information provided in the quest are consistent between them and with the submitted pictures/videos The more high-quality pictures or videos the higher the likelihood of your quest being approved. More evidence = More points!
Additional points: Satellite overpass
The data collected on the ground by participants of the MowingQuest, will be used to help build and validate maps, which are based on satellite imagery. Therefore, the best time to collect data is when a satellite overpass is happening! We have calculated the satellite overpass dates at each of the target locations. On those days, you will notice that the points will increase by a factor of 3. The increased points will only appear on that date and will return to base points the next day.
Additional points: Verified mowing
When a person has submitted a quest with a mowing event currently happening, and the experts at the review system agree on its quality, the base points for that location will increase by a factor of 5. Opportunistic locations where verified mowing occurs will become NEW target locations, with increased points. In these cases, the points increase will last for 3 days, returning to base points afterwards.
And more additional points!
When a satellite overpass is scheduled on a verified mowing location, the points will be the highest available, in some cases, up to 10 times the base points. The locations with the highest points will be marked as a red pin with a star symbol, equivalent to 750 and up to 1000 points, depending on the location. See the table below for an overview of the achievable points.
| Base points | Satellite overpass (SO) | Verified mowing (VM) | Combined SO+VM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 30 | 50 | 100 |
| 20 | 60 | 100 | 200 |
| 40 | 120 | 200 | 400 |
| 60 | 180 | 300 | 500 |
| 80 | 240 | 400 | 500 |
| 100 | 300 | 500 | 750 (star) |
| 200 | 500 | 500 | 1000 (star) |
Guidelines
Important Guidelines
Be considerate of people and private spaces
Make sure you remain in public spaces and do not enter private areas nor infringe anyone's privacy. Even if the location shown in the map is inside a field, do not enter it.
Grasslands are beautiful landscapes
When taking pictures, follow the instructions in the app, trying to ensure no identifiable information (e.g. faces, plates, addresses) are shown.
Follow app guidance and instructions
The Geo-Quest app provides detailed instructions for each quest. Make sure to read and follow them carefully to ensure high-quality data collection.