STOKE ENVIRONMENT GROUP
Stoke St Gregory, Somerset, England
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Community Wildlife Mapping
Williams Hall, Stoke St Gregory, TA3 6HA
Saturday 1st July, 10.30 am - 12 noon
Even before the dust settles on Envirofair, we are thinking about our next event which is the Bio-Blitz/Learning to use Seek and iNaturalist apps. This is being run in conjunction with Somerset Wildlife Trust and Bryony has kindly organised the advertising from her side. The object of this event is to use how to properly use Seek and iNaturalist and to upload species data. We will be joined by Bryony, and also Leon de Bell of the Somerset Environmental Records Centre, with expert Val Graham, who is Chair of the Somerset Botany Group, and Sarah Shuttleworth from N Curry - also a botanist and moth expert.
This event will start and end at the Stoke St Gregory village hall where we will learn all about two smart-phone apps called ‘Seek’ and ‘iNaturalist'. We will then head out on a nature walk and see how many species of plants (and maybe a few bugs and beasties) we can find, record them using the apps to contribute to our local community wildlife map and national data. Citizen Science in action!
Adults and young people (14+) are welcome to join expert botanist Val learning the basics of plant identification and recording skills. Younger families are invited to join Bryony (claiming not to be an expert botanist!) for a child-friendly recording session.
Advanced booking is not essential but would be much appreciated so that we have an idea of numbers.
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It would be useful if people planning to come along could download the two apps to their phones or tablets - see below
Please book HERE (yes, it's still free!)
This event is a partnership between Stoke-St-Gregory Environment group, Somerset Wildlife Trust, Somerset Botany Group and Somerset Environmental Records Centre.
iNaturalist is the platform recommended by Somerset Wildlife Trust for recording wildlife data. It can be accessed either through a computer or via an app on a smartphone. Several SEG members have started using it with varying success rates. Like any similar app, it needs fine tuning and a reasonable amount of use to become accurate. Once you have set up an iNaturalist account you can join a project such as the ‘Big Count’ or the ‘Great Somerset Wildlife Count’ project.
More details on the SWT site HERE where you can download the app, and the accompanying ‘SEEK’ app which does the actual recording. There are also three videos to help you on your way.
If you want to experiment, or have some specific wildlife aspect in mind, there are alternatives:
iRecord is another system which matches species sightings with GPS coordinates, descriptions and other information, which is then made available to National Recording Schemes. Their app is available HERE
If you are into trees, the Woodland Trust has produced a useful app. In just a few steps you can identify native and common non-native trees in the UK whatever the season using leaves, bark, twigs, buds, flowers or fruit. The app is available HERE
If for example you are interested in grasshoppers, crickets, earwigs, cockroaches and stick-insects, you might need something more specialised. The Biological Records Centre has produced a list of available ID apps. Click HERE
Do let us know how you get on - envirostoke@yahoo.com