ARTICLES
“I spy with my little eye …” (continued)
It is more than a koala app
Their form follows an existing survey format called SAT (Spot
Assessment Technique), that ensures all the data is collected
in the identical format. This makes the process quicker, more
streamlined and more efficient.
To date, I Spy Koala has been downloaded more than a
thousand times and more than 150 observations have been
submitted. These are very good numbers, but we still need
to see how successful this app is in capturing data on the
field.
Importantly, ‘I Spy Koala’ will help centralise all the data in one
place, so that anyone – members of the public, researchers or
community groups, and local or state government – can easily
find out where koalas have been found recently in NSW.
This pilot will help us explore opportunities to use a similar
model to collect sightings and survey data for other species.
It is also part of wide range of actions designed to improve
our knowledge about koalas and their habitat. As part of the
NSW Koala Strategy, it is designed to contribute to the NSW
Government’s vision to stabilise, then hopefully to increase
koala populations in NSW.
This is why we are particularly interested in your feedback.
Is the app easy to use? Have you any suggestions for
improvement? Please let us know by writing to us at:
[email protected]. We also encourage you to
visit NSW Koala Country, a website by the community for
the community, to find out more about koalas in NSW.
Credit photo: Sarah Pulling/DPIE
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 4