ARTICLES
“I spy with my little eye …”
By Alex Lassalle
Spotting a koala in the wild is a fantastic experience, one that
you will probably never forget. Now, with a simple mobile app,
you can make this rare experience count, and help the NSW
Government secure koala populations in the wild.
will help us identify and implement appropriate conservation
actions.
Please note that ‘I Spy Koala’ is not meant to be a replacement for
direct reporting of sick and injured koalas to wildlife rehabilitation
services. We strongly encourage you to continue to report any
injured or sick koalas directly to your local licensed wildlife
rehabilitation group.
I Spy Koala is a free app, developed in 2019 by the Department
of Planning, Industry and Environment as part of the NSW
Koala Strategy. You can visit the Apple or Google app stores to
download it on your phone or tablet.
The optional fields at the bottom of the form require some
environmental expertise, and can be left blank. Nevertheless, the
more information you can provide, the more useful the data from
your sighting becomes. For example, recording the altitude of
your observation can contribute to a better understanding of how
koala populations respond to climate change.
It has been designed to streamline the collection of koala
observations and survey data in NSW. It is also a great tool to
raise awareness about the importance of citizen science in the
management of threatened species.
Your sightings can help protect koalas
Once you have completed the form,
check the location of your record on
the map and click on ‘Save’. You can
then click on ‘Upload data’ as soon
as you’ve returned to an area with
mobile coverage, at the end of your
holiday or even a few weeks later.
Just remember you won’t be able to
modify your record once you have
uploaded it.
The easiest way to record an observation
I Spy Koala has two main functionalities: recording incidental
observations and supporting field surveys. The first one is
intended for members of the public spotting a koala – or any
signs of a koala occurrence, including scratching marks, scats
or calls – anywhere in NSW.
Your record will then go through
an expert review process before
being uploaded on BioNet, the NSW
Government’s repository for biodiversity data, and published on
the SEED portal (see ‘About SEED’).
If you click on “Record an observation”,
you’ll see most of the location fields are
pre-populated with the GPS readings
from your mobile device. You simply
need to add either a street address or
a geographical feature in the location
description field. This will make the
review process easier.
On some occasions, for instance if you report a sighting in an
area where koalas have never been seen before, we might have
to contact you to check the details of the record or verify that it
was correct.
A tool to support koala experts
The second functionality of I Spy Koala – accessible with the
button ‘Start a Census’ – is directed towards researchers or
conservation managers who are undertaking koala surveys. By
entering survey data directly into the app rather than using paper
data sheets they can save many hours in the process. They can
also limit the risk for errors by reducing the numbers of steps.
It is also important that you indicate the
type of observation and the condition
of the animal. If you find a dead koala
for example, reporting the cause of its
death (e.g. vehicle strike or dog attack)
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 4