The Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network is a UK-wide citizen science initiative that aims to get the public more involved with nature through a range of local and national projects.
It developed activities and resources, including seven national nature surveys, which allow people to get closer to their local environment while collecting important scientific data.
Members of the public are asked to upload their findings directly onto the OPAL website, and results are then analysed by Imperial College London, which is also coordinating the survey.
The survey asks people to look for lichens on trees and tar spot fungus on sycamore leaves and then record their results online.
The survey is helping scientists learn more about the effects of air pollution, and is supported by a number of organisations including the British Lichen Society.
In January 2013, OPAL published the Community Environment Report, summarising the findings of the first five years of the project and its contribution to citizen science.
The report showed that more than half a million people across England had been involved in OPAL activities, many of whom were carrying out a nature survey for the very first time.