Emma Bradshaw
Guidance for environmental data collectors
We value your data
We understand that there are many different citizen science projects run by a variety of organisations all building up our understanding of species and the state of nature in the UK. We want to make things simpler for groups and individuals to report their findings in Staffordshire.
Places to view data
Data cannot always be viewed and can rarely be seen all in one place. Results can be shared in various forms from online maps to yearly reports and is not always easy to spot.
Species records
The results for City Nature Challenge can be viewed in on iNaturalists website.
Staffordshire data can be viewed through SER Atlases - where you can see the disruption of records across Staffordshire for different years, through clicking on your species of interest.
To view national collections of species data, NBN Atlas -
Species search | NBN Atlas or an iRecord account. The data from SER feeds into the NBN atlas along with other records centres and data partners like the Environment Agency. The iRecord data explorer updates frequently and may show records not yet transferred to the NBN Atlas.
Single species projects are usually reported back by the coordinating organisation. For example, all past BTO citizen science projects can be found on their webpage with some reported back to the public in news articles others forming parts of scientific papers.
Big Schemes
The data for big schemes tends to be summarised. The results will be linked from or on the webpage advertising the survey. For example, The Big River Watch | The Rivers Trust, which has an interactive map and chart. The Big Butterfly Count similarly has an interactive map, which allows you to draw boundaries and filter the data.
Riverfly
The Riverfly Partnership runs data collection and analysis through Cartographer. Results can be viewed by anyone on their website through their data dashboard - Riverfly Data.
Submit species data
If you have only a couple of records to submit, we recommend using iRecord. You can either create an account or submit a record through the SER website.
Help with the iRecord app & website can be found on their website - Get started with iRecord... | iRecord.
If you have a whole collection of records, you can send details of your sighting to SER online, by email to records@staffs-ecology.org.uk or post records to SER, The Wolseley Centre, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST17 0WT.
Online data entry is preferred. The SER from is set up to submit species records for a particular day all at the same location. To enter records for multiple days or locations at the same time you need an iRecord account.
Develop your skills
There are opportunities to learn something new every day. The best naturalists are people with passion! It all starts by looking at species, not knowing what it is, but over time learning about the species to the point of becoming an expert. The best way to build knowledge is to be curious and to try.
We look to support people through linking people together in the local wildlife interest groups. In these groups knowledge is shared, and you all learn together as you practise identification skills or setting up trail cameras.
There are events and courses to help you explore know different places in Staffordshire.
If you are looking for more technical courses, you can find them advertised on Countryside jobs - CJS Training Directory or the Field Studies council website - Courses and Experiences – Field Studies Council.
You can always try getting involved with other initiatives - Opportunities to get involved in environmental data collection.
Priority monitoring species
Key species in the report
Help us improve our resources
As projects change and so many different organisations run schemes, there are likely to be some we have missed. We want to learn about the whole variety of environmental data that is being collected in Staffordshire so please filled out the questionnaire linked below and tell us about what you do.
Terry Whittaker 2020 VISION
Ways to get involved in environmental data collection
Citizen science initiatives gather data collected by individual volunteers to build up a bigger picture of the habitats and species within our landscapes. These small actions transform into big results when many people get involved.