Build Your Digital Toolbox for Surveying
There are some mobile apps that will help you on your mission. You will need:
- A timestamp photo app on your mobile phone is essential. We recommend Timestamp Camera Enterprise Free, as it will add time and GPS coordinates (6 decimal points is best) to your photo for evidence.
- A digital mapping program so you can view your location while out in the forest and drop pins to geolocate key features is also very useful. Avenza Maps is free, and great resource for this. You can upload forestry harvest plans to Avenza, which when you are in the area, will show exactly where you are on the plan. This allows you to check if forestry has followed the rules regarding exclusion zones or important habitat features that require protection. You can also upload photos to Avenza Map pins that you have taken on Timestamp Camera with the GPS coordinates on the front of the photo. Google Maps is a viable alternative – learn how to drop a pin and save it on Google Maps to get coordinates for features to report sightings.
- Create an account, explore records and submit your findings with iNaturalist as this has records of all natural life recorded in a certain area. If you are on the NSW South Coast explore the Atlas Of Life in the Coastal Wilderness (Moruya to Victorian border) or Budawang Atlas of Life (Kiama to Moruya).
- Consult BioNet Atlas for any existing threatened flora and fauna records in forests currently marked 'Proposed', 'Approved' or 'Active' on the 12-month Native Forest Plan of Operations Map.
Up-skill with nature apps
The following apps, websites and books provide you with knowledge of local species and how to identify them.
- Bird ID apps - Both the Morcombe & Stewart and Pizzey & Knight Birds of Australia apps are great resources for calls. Also check out the Birdlife Australia Birdata app.
- Plants of South Eastern New South Wales Australia app.
- Australian Museum Animal Fact Sheets.
- Australian Museum’s Frog ID app.
- Trees Near Me
- EUCLID and Leon Costerman’s Native Trees and Shrubs of South Eastern Australia book are great resources for identifying flora.
- WomSAT- record and track where wombats are near you.
- Large Forest Owls Project - Nature Conservation Council has put together 12 short videos on song meters, nest boxes for surveying for threatened species to trigger environmental protection.
Check out these resources for Southern NSW:
- Fauna and Habitat Features that Trigger Exclusion Zones in
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Protocol 31 Flora that triggers a 20m exclusion zone (all plants in NSW)