This collection examines how ethnobiological and ethnomedical knowledge can be preserved, analyzed, and expanded through modern digital and computational tools. Inspired by the ETHCSTWIN initiative, it highlights interdisciplinary research that connects traditional medicinal knowledge with big data, AI, and collaborative open-science frameworks.

The collection welcomes contributions on:

• Digital preservation and documentation of ethnobiomedical heritage, including manuscripts, folklore, and ethnobotanical records.
• Computational and AI‑based methods—such as machine learning, data mining, NLP, and systems biology—for analyzing large ethnobiomedical datasets and generating therapeutic insights.
• Development of digital infrastructures, including relational databases, knowledge graphs, and integrated platforms for data curation and reuse.
• Interdisciplinary methodologies that bridge ethnobiomedical research with data science, bioinformatics, and cheminformatics.
• Capacity building and collaborative models that strengthen cross‑regional research ecosystems, particularly those linking the Balkans, Mediterranean, and Central Europe.
• Future applications, including translational potential for phytotherapy, drug discovery, and community‑driven knowledge exchange.

All submissions in this Collection undergo the journal’s standard peer review process, and all manuscripts authored by a Guest Editor(s) are handled by the Editor-in-Chief. As an open access publication, this journal levies an article processing fee (details here). We recognize that many key stakeholders may not have access to such resources and are committed to supporting participation in this issue wherever resources are a barrier. For more information about what support may be available, please visit OA funding and support, or email OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com or the Editor-in-Chief.

Environmental education is an increasingly important area of research, particularly in relation to sustainability, biodiversity loss, environmental change, and acute nature deficit in the everyday lives of urbanised populations. In parallel, ethnobiology, ethnoecology, and related ethnosciences have a long tradition of generating empirically grounded insights into human interactions with biological and ecological systems. This includes how knowledge of plants, animals, fungi, ecosystems, climate patterns, and health is developed, maintained, conceptualized, and transmitted within specific environmental and cultural contexts. Despite these shared concerns, research that explicitly integrates environmental education with ethnobiological, ethnoecological, and ethnomedical sciences remains relatively limited and dispersed across disciplines.

This Collection invites contributions that examine environmental education through ethnobiological, ethnoecological, and ethnomedical perspectives that are firmly rooted in biological and ecological research. The focus is on how knowledge of biodiversity, ecosystems, environmental variability, and health is learned, shared, and transmitted within communities, drawing on field-based, observational, and analytical approaches from ethnobiology, ecology, biology, and allied sciences. In addition to documenting practical knowledge, contributions may also explore more abstract or theoretical dimensions of environmental learning—such as local systems of classification, ecological reasoning, pattern recognition, seasonal calendars, or weather and climate prediction—as they relate to environmental education.

Rather than broad discussions of educational theory or curriculum design, the Collection emphasizes place-based, community-embedded, and empirically informed approaches to understanding environmental learning in real-world ecological contexts. Particular attention is given to how environmental knowledge is embedded in everyday practices, livelihoods, and interpretive frameworks that connect biophysical observation with cultural meaning and environmental decision-making.

We welcome studies addressing both formal and informal learning environments, including intergenerational knowledge transmission, community-based educational practices, and the role of Indigenous and local knowledge systems in shaping ecological understanding, environmental awareness, and stewardship. Particular encouragement is given to contributions that explicitly link ethnobiological and ethnoecological knowledge systems with ecological processes, biodiversity outcomes, environmental variability (including weather and climate), or human and animal health, highlighting their relevance to contemporary environmental and health challenges.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Ethnobotanical, ethnozoological, ethnomycological, or ethnoecological knowledge in environmental learning contexts.
• Biological and ecological dimensions of cultural knowledge transmission related to plants, animals, fungi, ecosystems, and environmental variability.
• Community-based and field-based approaches to learning about biodiversity, ecosystems, weather patterns, and environmental change.
• Indigenous and local knowledge systems as sources of ecological insight, environmental reasoning, and environmental practice.
• Local systems of environmental observation, classification, and prediction (e.g., seasonal cycles, weather forecasting, climate indicators) in educational contexts.
• Connections between ethnobiology, environmental learning, and human or animal health
• Implications of ethnobiological and ethnoecological research for environmental, nutritional, public health, or climate-related education and policy.
• Practical examples of how local knowledge systems are integrated into formal education, both in teaching practices and curriculum content.
• Case studies that compare or assess the short‑ and long‑term impacts of different approaches to embedding local ecological knowledge in formal and non‑formal environmental education.

All submissions in this Collection undergo the journal’s standard peer review process, and all manuscripts authored by a Guest Editor(s) are handled by the Editor-in-Chief. As an Open Access publication, this journal levies an article processing fee (details here). We recognize that many key stakeholders may not have access to such resources and are committed to supporting participation in this issue wherever resources are a barrier. For more information about what support may be available, please visit OA funding and support, or email OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com or the Editor-in-Chief.