Posted by Choyster
Sandra Lauer & Jeremy Mears, conservation land managers of Illilanga & Baroona.
We were introduced to NatureMapr in 2017 when Michael Mulvaney visited our property as part of a research project that we were involved with. Michael noticed a small species of Wattle (Acacia ulicifolia) and asked us if it was okay to upload some photos as a sighting to NatureMapr. After Michael explained to us what NatureMapr was about, we decided to join. We haven't looked back.
As conservation land managers, we aim to protect, rehabilitate, and restore our existing biodiverse ecosystems, and reintroduce complexity to those systems on our property. NatureMapr has been an essential tool to help us manage our property in this way.
We use NatureMapr to:
- identify weeds and other pest species
- record and catalogue what species we have on our property and where they are located
- monitor seasonal/climatic changes affecting those species
- improve our knowledge about our local species
- learn how to recognise important native species that might be threatened or vulnerable
- search for plant species endemic to our area
- upload sightings to assist with research such as the Little Eagle and Rosenberg’s Monitor projects
- contribute to the scientific knowledge about our local area.
The recent addition of the Species Richness Score for mapped locations has motivated us to try and identify as many different species as possible. To have these records readily available as a species pie chart, that can be drilled down into, is a game changer. We have used our profile and property map page for grant applications, grant acquittals, reporting requirements, research enquiries, and to showcase the ecological communities on our property.
Using NatureMapr has helped us to increase our knowledge about many ecological communities and has enhanced our ability to identify key species that might be important for us as conservation land managers.
We have always found the NatureMapr community of moderators and users to be enthusiastic, supportive, and knowledgeable. It is wonderful how much we have learned and shared by just being a part of the NatureMapr community. It is a very special feeling to have a sighting from your property marked as "significant" or featured on the home page of NatureMapr.
NatureMapr is always evolving and improving. It is simple and intuitive to use. You can upload both photos and audio. We feel comfortable knowing that we can suppress the location of any sightings on our property from public view, and any sensitive sightings (such as orchids) are automatically suppressed. The biggest issue we have is deciding which five photos to use for each sighting!
You don't know what you don’t know. You never know what exciting species you might have on your property and NatureMapr can help you find that out.