To celebrate this software and bring the spatial community together, an annual conference is held known as FOSS4G, or Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial. This year Gaia were very proud to both sponsor and facilitate the conference on 12th November. The organising committee consisted of a crack team of volunteers from a range of businesses and educational facilities, who pulled off an incredible two-day event jam-packed with information and hands-on learning.

Things got off to a hairy start when one of our presenters came down with COVID-like symptoms and had to quarantine, but alas, these are the times we live in. The presentations that weren’t foiled by COVID were filmed and are available here on the FOSS4G SotM Oceania YouTube channel.

Russel Keith-Magee discusses his experiences in contributing the the open source community.

This year’s keynote presenters gave us a lot of food for thought: Russell Keith-Magee treated us to an energetic and enlightening introduction to the world of contributing to open source software. The audience were captivated and hopefully a few were inspired by his note that you don’t need to be able to code in order to contribute. Then Femina Metcalfe and Helen Ensikat unveiled the long journey to bringing open source software to the local government sector in Western Australia, revealing incredible foresight, persistence and tenacity. 

A series of presentations and 5 minute lightning talks, interspersed with top-notch catering from Joey Zaza’s, made for an enjoyable and educational event. We learnt about how open source spatial software is being used in the private, government and education sectors; we were shown how to collect spatial data in the field using the free QField mobile app; and we were treated to a number of fascinating scientific studies which were undertaken utilising free and open source software. 

A personal highlight for me was our own committee member John Bryant experiencing some technical difficulties at the start of his 5 minute lightning talk about new features in QGIS, and having to speed through the rest of it. He made it with seconds to spare, and got a cheer from the audience. 

What I love most about this particular conference is the ability to network and connect – I really feel it’s the ethos of open source that facilitates the desire to share your ideas, learnings and data with the community. This was such a welcome change from conferences which are geared around sales pitches and profit. 

The organising committee would like to extend a massive thank you to the sponsors of the event, without which we couldn’t hold it. These amazing companies are fostering the availability of powerful software tools to the world and the removal of socio-economic boundaries. 

Special thanks to our venue sponsor FLUX, who allowed us to fill their terrific Basement venue with raucous nerdery for the day. 

And of course an enormous kudos to the organising committee, who put in months of effort to make the event happen (big shout out to John Bryant and Maia Williams).

If you’d like to know more about FOSS4G, check out their website. If you’re interested in getting involved in the event for next year, free to get in touch via email, or start a conversation with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Cheers!
Tracey

Sponsors

Organisers
John Bryant
Maia Williams
Tracey Cousens
John Duncan
Bryan Boruff
Sam Wilson
Ivana Ivanova
Nick Middleton
Nimalika Fernando
Daniel Moore
Piers Higgs

Volunteers
Cholena Smart
Keith Moss
Grant Boxer
Petra Helmholz
Rocio Peyronnet
Rachel Pennington
Angus Mackay
Gail Wittich

The post The annual FOSS4G Conference: Celebrating Open Source Software in the Spatial Community appeared first on Gaia Resources.

Farmers like Mark Desaliy can use the app to monitor fires near their stations.

Our initial release of the North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI) app for iOS and Android back in February brings the most used fire information resource for land managers in Australia to your phone, allowing you to keep a constant eye on bushfire threats. You can view maps of satellite generated fire activity (hotspots) and burnt areas (fire scars) provided by the NAFI service. There’s a good summary back in March from Rohan Fisher on ABC Radio – Kimberley.

At a regional scale like this area in northern NT and WA, the NAFI app represents real-time hotspots through a heat map clustering algorithm.

Just to recap on how the app works behind the scenes to provide you with real-time fire information:

• The hotspot locations are updated several times a day and the fire scars are updated up to once or twice a week depending on fire conditions.
• The fire scars are produced by the NAFI Service and the hotspots are sourced from Landgate WA and Geoscience Australia.
• Base maps for imagery and topography can be downloaded for offline use in your region of interest, and then used for when you go outside of mobile data range.
• Burnt area mapping covers the Australian Savannas and rangelands that comprise around 70% of Australia, but does not cover NSW, VIC or the heavily populated regions of QLD, WA and SA.

So how popular is the NAFI app – well we can monitor a number of analytics using iOS AppStoreConnect and Google Play console, or the Firebase dashboard. These are configurable dashboards that can tell us things like how many installations occurred by day or week, how many are actively used, and filtered by operating system or device type. As of today, the iOS app has been downloaded 288 times since it’s initial release, and the Android version 142 times.

AppStoreConnect dashboard for the iOS NAFI app provides statistics of installations by week since the mid-February release.
Google Play Console shows the increase in installations of the Android NAFI app over time since the mid-February release.

We expect installations to continue upwards in the month of May and beyond, as more people on the ground become aware of the benefits and utility of the app. There are two phases of bushfire related activity  where the app can be useful, associated with the early Dry season burn programs and carbon (emission reduction) projects, and the late Dry season bushfire response.

The statistics are anonymised so we are not tracking personal information, but what the out-of-the-box analytics does help us to understand are the trends, and – along with ratings and word of mouth – we get a bit more insight into how people are reacting to the app. This can then feed into our strategy with clients on helping them target marketing campaigns and prioritise enhancements. We also utilise Firebase Crashlytics as a way of logging the details of any crashes and error messages received, and this really helps us get quickly to the root cause of a technical issue a particular user is experiencing.

Please be aware if you are using the app:

• Hotspot location on any map may only be accurate to within 1.5 km
• The hotspot symbol on the maps does not indicate the size of the fire
• Some fires may be small, brief, or obscured by smoke or cloud and go undetected
• Satellites detect other heat sources such as smokestacks

For more information visit: https://savannafiremapping.com/nafi-mobile-app/

If you would like to know more about our projects with the NAFI team, or want to strike up a conversation by sending me an email or getting in touch on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. 

Chris

The post The NAFI app is changing the way work is planned in the field appeared first on Gaia Resources.

Over the years we have developed quite a range of apps in the biodiversity, fire, parks and citizen science sectors.

In the citizen science sector, a number of our apps have helped scientists engage with citizenry to monitor and report sightings of species of interest in order to broaden their research input. Our most long-running partnership is with the River Guardians team in WA’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, where the Dolphin Watch app has enabled the monitoring of the small population of Indo-pacific bottle-nosed dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Perth’s Swan and Canning River estuary. Over nearly a decade we have put enormous effort into supporting this significant program, where up to 1000 trained local citizens have contributed images, observations and surveys to the project. The project has since been extended to other sites in WA, such as Broome and Mandurah.

Two more recent project to aid species conservation were the I Spy Koala app, developed in 2019 for the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) for the collection of koala observation and survey data to improve the flow of Koala observation data into NSW planning and decisions tools; and Slug Sleuth, , an app that aims to help scientists, locals and visitors to collect observation data for slugs and snails within Mount Kaputar National Park and adjacent Nandewar Ranges within NSW, but especially the threatened Mt Kaputar giant pink slug (Triboniophorus< aff. graeffei).

Significantly, both these apps were developed to submit data to the NPWS BioSys repository. BioSys is an open-source, standards-based data management system built specifically for biological data. The system has a flexible data schema model that allows users to create a schema specific to the structure of their data, and that can apply to just about any biological and ecological data.

The Urban Wildlife app was developed for the NESP Clean Air and Urban Landcapes Hub, based primarily at the University of Melbourne, and contained multiple projects in which to record sightings of bell frogs, beneficial insects, flying foxes, or possums and gliders, usually across all states and territories in Australia.

Another take on the utility of apps – if they can help observe and conserve biodiversity, can they also assist in managing its major threatening processes? Here’s a couple of examples that we’ve brought into production in the last couple of years.

The NAFI Fire Information app brings the most used fire information resource for land managers in northern Australia to a mobile device, providing a constant eye on local bushfire threats.

And, the Essential Service Volunteers app helps volunteers automatically track the duration, location and type of work they undertook, an ID card service to show they’re an approved member of a legitimate volunteer essential service, and access to community discounts for firies and others essential volunteers.

And for the Wildcare Helpline app we worked with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) to develop an app that provides a service for the WA public who find sick or injured native wildlife and are seeking advice on where to find care for the animal.

We’ve also developed a number of apps along with DBCA and Trails WA to help the community enjoy the natural beauty of WA as well!. Camping Mate and Marine Parks WA are both DBCA apps aimed at ensuring the user maximises their experience of the Park facilities in WA, both on land ad water. And Trails WA provides detailed information – even when off-grid – to hikers hitting the extensive bike and walking tracks in WA.

And finally, it’s worth noting we also develop apps that have a very restricted purpose. The Mosquito Monitoring App is the first for the Atlas of Environmental Health (AEH). It was made specifically for the use of Environmental Health Officers within WA local governments. More recently, the AEH and the Mosquito Monitoring app have become useful in the Victorian health arena.

You can read more about our work on mobile apps over the last decade, or check out our current mobile apps in the Apple and Android app stores. (Other apps we’ve developed can be found on our client app stores.)

If you’re interested in how our mobile data collection apps could help your organisation, feel free to email me, or start a chat with us via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Alex

The post Our mobile apps – a recap appeared first on Gaia Resources.

New updates have been made to Slug Sleuth, an app that aims to help scientists, locals and visitors to collect observation data for slugs and snails within Mount Kaputar National Park and adjacent Nandewar Ranges within NSW. This recent release includes a refreshed user interface and an added feature to use pictures already stored on phone.

Screenshots from the Slug Sleuth app

The app is available for both Apple and Android devices, and you can see a range of our current mobile apps in the Apple and Android app stores. Other apps we’ve developed can be found on our client app stores.

If you’re interested in how our mobile data collection apps could help your organisation, feel free to email me, or start a chat with us via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Alex

The post Slug Sleuth mobile app updates appeared first on Gaia Resources.

Gaia Resources worked closely with the NAFI team to design and build the app, which you can now download onto your device from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

The release coincides with the 2021 Savanna Fire Forum being run remotely from Darwin to over 150 participants.  Available for Android and iOS, the app enables land owners, indigenous rangers, conservation scientists, pastoralists and others to get near real-time fire information across 80% of the Australian continent. It is part of a bunch of support we have been providing to NAFI and other fire management groups in recent years (click here for a snapshot of previous blogs), and we are really excited about our contribution up in the Top End.

On the surface the app simply reflects the powerful data products available from the NAFI website that are already used extensively across projects and programs in the north of Australia to monitor savanna burning programs and bushfires.  Fire scars are displayed representing remotely sensed burnt areas coloured by the month of the fire, as are thermal hotspots detected from an array of satellites. These data layers are presented in an intuitive mapping interface with a small selection of base maps, location and compass direction functionality.

The NAFI app starts with a view of your region (left), presents a legend and layer selector (middle left), provides topo and imagery base maps (middle right) and near real-time hotpots (right).

In this initial release, the idea is to get the data out there onto mobile devices, and the NAFI team are keen to have that drive discussion about enhancements that will deliver high value to people working in the field and planning their fire management activities. This could be planners and rangers on carbon abatement programs focused on early dry season controlled burns, or community and government organisations battling raging bushfires, like the one that swept through 87,000 hectares of the World Heritage Listed Fraser Island last December (here is a link to the most recent article on that event).

An earlier test version of the app (left) during the December, 2020 Fraser Island fire. Image source: The Australian.

When you start using the app, you’ll notice a few little gems in there that are all focused on increasing the accessibility and usefulness of that NAFI data. So let’s start with the near real-time aspect:

• the app checks for updates regularly, with hotspots updated every 20 minutes on average, and fire scars updated 2-3 times per week,
• data is pulled down dynamically from the NAFI server and processed on AWS cloud-based infrastructure,
• the data is then automatically uploaded to the person’s device whenever they have the app running with a mobile data connection.

Next, let’s consider the offline capabilities:

• the app allows you to download base maps (OpenMapTiles imagery or NAFI’s Topographic map) for your region(s) of interest,
• you can continue to work outside of a mobile data connection, with the most recent fire scar and hotspot data from when you were last online and had the app running,
• the location marker and compass direction give you geographical context online or offline.

Hundreds of thousands of hotspots are rendered seamlessly using a heatmap algorithm. To overcome a performance constraint for mobile devices, we have devised a rendering algorithm that can render tens of thousands concurrent hotspot points across Australia into temporal heat map clusters. People using the app can get that regional view of hot spots and visualise three different fire age groupings in purple (0-6hrs), red (6-24hrs) and blue (24-48hrs). The app also features some high resolution fire scar mapping of the Darwin area sourced from Sentinel satellite imagery, as part of a trial implementation with BushfiresNT. The continental scale fire scar mapping is based on MODIS satellite imagery (250m resolution), so the new Sentinel based mapping based on much higher resolution imagery is an exciting new space to keep an eye on.

Being an initial release, the NAFI team are looking for feedback future versions, or just to hear what you think – there’s a direct feedback link in the app itself too. We’d also love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to reach out to us and start up a conversation by sending me an email or getting in touch on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. 

Chris

The post Fire information app launch appeared first on Gaia Resources.

The local Larrakia people actually observe 6 seasons (November and December is “Balnba” or Rainy Season), and in many respects I think that is more appropriate than the two “Wet” and “Dry” because there are significant changes between the Big Wind Time, the Build Up, the Rainy Season and the Monsoon Season.

The Gulumoerrgin Season calendar has six overlapping seasons and characteristics (Source: CSIRO and contributors Lorraine Williams, Judith Williams, Maureen Ogden, Keith Risk and Anne Risk)

I’m pretty sure I was already sweating the moment I got out of my car en-route to a Territory NRM conference workshop at the Charles Darwin University Waterfront Campus at 7:30am, but I’m mostly used to it now. “It’s a thing” as my colleague Tony likes to say, and it is only temporary. At this time of year the sun is hot, and clouds start to gather in the afternoon while the humidity rises, and on rare late afternoons the sweet relief of rain buckets down for an hour or so to cool us all down.

That day though was one of those hide-from-the-sun-like-a-vampire sort of days (fine if you stay in the shadows) – and silly me I was wearing pants on this particular day. Unlike the park rangers, land managers and researchers gathered at the conference who do a lot of work out in the field conducting savanna burning programs, protecting rock art and preserving biodiversity – I tend to sit in an air conditioned office most of the time tapping away at the computer and really can’t hold a candle to the important work these people do.

What we are trying to do though, is help by increasing the accessibility and power of data to aid in their planning and decision making. So at this workshop I was helping to demonstrate the new tools and technology being leveraged by the the North Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI) service. The NAFI team have been busy development of new tools, the SMERF dashboard and enhanced services on their website. Our part in this has been to develop a plugin for QGIS that increases the accessibility of the NAFI data products on that free and open-source GIS platform, and a mobile app for Android and iOS that provides near real-time fire mapping in the field.

Peter Jacklyn shows workshop attendees around the features of the NAFI website.

Participants at the workshop got to see a sneak peek of the app that is still in development, including the live fire hotspots and firescars against a backdrop of 3 base map options. We got some valuable feedback from Kakadu Park Rangers and others about how the app would be useful and what would make it even better in the next version. So there was real excitement about the ability to download imagery and topo maps for offline use, and the way in which the app automatically updates hotspots and firescars while you are online (and have the app active). The directional GPS position was also really important for field crew, and they showed us how they are currently producing static PDF maps and sending them out with field crews. One of the most interesting insights was to hear that rangers are able to receive a decent 3G/4G signal while in the air above a remote area – so theoretically our app could be updating information while in the air to be used offline back on the ground. We got some other really good ideas out of the interactions at the workshop, and so I am looking forward to continuing to work with the NAFI team.

I also attended one day of the conference itself, and went along to the Gala Dinner to see the deserving recipients of Territory NRM awards. There were some pretty interesting talks – including research findings from Bretty Murphy (Charles Darwin Uni – RIEL) about the shocking impact of two amplifying issues, of fire and feral cats, facing small threatened mammals in the Top End. The one that captured everyone’s heart though, was from school kids at the Manyalluk School and their teacher Ben Kleinig. Ben’s initiative to seek and use STEM funding for educational applications with a drone and motion sensor cameras – and these indigenous childrens’ enthusiasm – was truly inspiring. Here’s the description from the Territory NRM conference program:

“Students from Manyallaluk School are passionate about their country and through STEM subjects are gaining skills to fly drones; record, graph and analyse data; present findings; set-up of trail cameras and camera traps; and to use a snake camera. Key topics are buffalo and their impact on the environment, how plastic waste can harm turtles, different habitats for different species, and surveying species with a focus on comparing feral to native animal numbers. Students have been empowered to think about interesting careers that utilise technology in the environment, including land management, and plans for the future include a partnership with TNRM to build a feral animal exclusion zone to study and survey, using DNA testing to locate and map Gouldian finches and other species, ongoing surveying of wildlife in different habitats, and the ongoing challenge of photographing the elusive echidna.”

They have their own Youtube channel (with videos like the one we saw below), and I smile every time I think about the kids in lab coats showing their charts and saying “Let’s see what the data tells us.” As someone who gets passionate about data and data science, it is really uplifting to see technology, data and environmental issues being tackled by young regional students. Not surprisingly they won the Next Generation NRM Award.

So another great year for NRM in the Territory, and a fantastic job by the Territory NRM organisation in bringing us all together. If anyone wants to find out more about our collaboration with the NAFI team, or to chat about ways in which we can help with your NRM projects please feel free to start up a conversation on our regular channels on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. 

Chris

The post Recap on the Territory NRM conference appeared first on Gaia Resources.

The 2019 Territory NRM Conference featured a number of presentations like this one in the Darwin Convention Centre and the nearby CDU Waterfront campus (Source: Territory NRM)

In this year’s conference, the NAFI team will facilitate a workshop to look at recent developments in some of the important tools that land managers depend on for monitoring fires across 70% of Australia. The workshop will be demonstrating some of the latest tools leveraging NAFI for accessing and analysing fire information for NRM support. Part of that will be on their new Plugin for our favourite QGIS software (which we have blogged about previously), and our current project to develop a NAFI mobile app for Android and iOS devices. Also on the agenda will be the latest developments in providing sophisticated fire history analysis information through the Savanna Monitoring and Evaluation Metrics (SMERF) interface.

The NAFI QGIS plugin was released earlier this year, providing an easy to use interface to access fire information data products.

Those attending will get to see a preview of our “test” app development to date, and we’ll have a few devices on hand so they can play with a test version. We’ll talk about the future vision and invite participants to provide feedback on how they see the app being used in the field. These sorts of sessions are gold for us in the development space, because we can really get a sense of where the high value functionality lies. Obviously the true power behind the app is the NAFI data products, but we are really excited about  what this means for those who use them. So as not to give everything away, we’ll blog after the event to provide a recap.

So if you are heading along to the Territory NRM conference, tap elbows with Chris and feel free to strike up a conversation. Or get in touch online through on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. 

The post Preview of the Territory NRM Conference 2020 appeared first on Gaia Resources.

Originally released by DBCA for iOS devices (iPhones and iPads) back in September, 2016, this free app provided information about the inshore marine parks along the WA coast. Parks Australia have since taken the opportunity to further enhance the app for users by providing additional information about the 24 offshore Australian Marine Parks beyond Western Australian waters.

So that is exactly what we have done, along with a slew of other enhancements including:

• an updated base map with Australian Marine Park boundaries,
• Australian Marine Park information, activities and wildlife,
• stunning new wildlife and marine park photographs,
• rich-text format changes to increase usability,
• hyperlinks to more resources like the Australian National Guidelines for Whale and Dolphin Watching 2017, and
• support for the latest versions of iOS and Android operating systems.

The app – now available on both iOS and Android devices – makes it easy for people to plan their visits to marine parks off the WA coast, from the remote Mermaid Reef and Lalang-Garram / Camden Sound Marine Parks off the Kimberley coast, to Geographe and Bremer Marine Parks in the south. It contains comprehensive information about each marine park, along with 72 common marine wildlife species and species of conservation significance such as the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis).

Detailed information about wildlife species like the Southern Right Whale (left) and Green Turtle (right) can be accessed through the app, including the marine parks they call home and their conservation status.

All of the data is downloaded to your phone, allowing people to access marine park information at any time even when offline and outside of phone range (like on a boat)!

The app has a ‘where am I?’ function so park users can see on an interactive map which marine park zone they are in and what activities they can enjoy in each particular area.

The app provides information on permitted activities in marine parks like boating in King George River in the North Kimberley Marine Park (left) and diving in the Rowley Shoals Marine Park (right).

The tool promotes the diversity of recreational experiences in Western Australia’s many marine parks and it provides practical information about how to contact each park, how to get there and how to stay safe during visits.

Having been to a number of these marine parks in the past, I can see how useful it would have been to have easy access to this information for planning and enriching my experience while I’m there. The offline maps and content in particular I think extends the visitor’s ability to take advantage of what the parks have on offer, and to appreciate the wildlife and physical beauty of these locations.

It is easy and free to upload the Marine Parks WA app to your phone or tablet, just head over to these DBCA links on the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

If you’d like to know more about how we can help you with developing a mobile application or ideas for future enhancements for the app, please leave a comment below, connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, or email me directly via chris.roach@gaiaresources.com.au.

Chris

The post Marine Parks WA app gets an uplift appeared first on Gaia Resources.

Of course, Covid-19 caused a number of disruptions for both our staff and the client. For the Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades of WA, regular brigade meetings were interrupted and so word of mouth knowledge of the app was impacted. For Gaia Resources ESV App team, going to lock-down to keep everyone safe made it somewhat harder to collaborate on ESV Stage 2. But by no means impossible! Gaia Resources management quickly responded to comprehensively support working from home and so development continued at a good pace.

Screenshots from the ESV app

During this stage, our development team also commenced work the web-based administrative portal to manage volunteers, brigades, businesses and the reporting of data. The admin portal is looking to be in a usable state this week and has just been presented to the clients for comment. Work will then continue for the near future to make it even better for all parties.

Bunbury Volunteer Bushfire Brigade – Cadets (photo courtesy AVBFBWA)

For more detailed information about the ES Volunteers App, including usage instructions and information for suppliers that would like to list a special offer for volunteers, please visit www.esvolunteers.org.au — help these guys help our community.

If you’re interested in how mobile data collection apps could help your organisation, feel free to comment below, contact me at angus.mackay@gaiaresources.com.au, or start a chat via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Wishing you all well in this trying time and hope you are keeping safe.

Gus

The post Essential Service Volunteers App update appeared first on Gaia Resources.

Then, in early 2020, funding became available to develop a much more fully-featured product, resulting in the Essential Service Volunteers (ESV) app, which was quietly published in the last two weeks.  The app is free to download, but full functionality is only available for users who volunteer for an essential service that has an active subscription.

Screenshots from the ESV app

This new app is an indispensable tool for volunteers who provide essential services such as firefighters, paramedics, surf lifesavers and search and rescue personnel and is free to use for all volunteers of registered essential services (although there are costs associated with other services outside of the Bush Fire Volunteers joining up with the app).  Managers of Bush Fire Volunteer Brigades that are not yet registered should contact ES Volunteers to discuss how to get set up.

Key features of the app include:

• a virtual ID card that proves the user is a currently registered and approved member of a legitimate volunteer essential service,
• the ability for the user to log the duration, location and type of work volunteers undertake,
• support for the Brigade Captains and Local Government officers to obtain statistics around the volunteering efforts of their Brigade, and
• the provision of discounts and deals offered exclusively to volunteers by nearby businesses.

As well as providing this valuable information to volunteers and important general statistics for their whole service, if a user chooses to log their GPS coordinates while at an incident, the record may be useful as evidence in future health, employment, reimbursement or other claims.

Businesses and other suppliers ranging from small regional coffee shops, mechanical repairers and hotels to multinational retailers can list discounts and offers exclusively for the volunteers, with the ability to choose which volunteers have access to their offer. Suppliers can choose who sees their offer by location, service type and later, even by specific Brigade.

A second phase of development that is underway already will provide a more comprehensive web app allowing volunteer users to manage their details, generate free reports of time spent, and the location and types of work undertaken. The web app will also enable authorised volunteer Brigade leaders to add and verify the volunteer users within their team.

So, what next?

• If you are in charge of an existing Bush Fire Brigade, then visit the ES Volunteers website to register your Brigade, which will require you to provide listings of your volunteers, so that they can start using the app,
• If you are a Bush Fire volunteer (and once your Brigade Captain has set up your Brigade) you can download the app to your device from the Google Play or the iTunes App Store,
• If you are involved in a different service than the Bush Fire Volunteers (e.g. ambulance, etc) then visit the ES Volunteers website to get more details about the small set-up fee and annual service charge, and to get started.

Hundreds of Bushfire Volunteers are already registered and using the app, including a number of whole Brigades, and we’ve already delivered an update with additional features – with more to come as we get feedback from the volunteers.

If you’re interested in how mobile data collection apps could help your organisation, feel free to comment below, contact Angus Mackay, or start a chat with us via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Alex

The post Essential Service Volunteers App appeared first on Gaia Resources.

Obligatory photo I took of Uluru at sunset (left) – which I must say was spectacular from this vantage point and around the base (no – I didn’t climb). An example of Geoscience Australia hardcopy maps (right – source: Geoscience Australia).

They still offer their widely used digital map products of course, but while our car passed through the spinifex spotted plains and dirt tracks heading to telegraph stations, meteorite craters and memorials, this news filled me with a sense of sadness and resignation, in the same way one might feel about the passing of a former Prime Minister or great author. There is a lot of history tied up in topographic maps, and many stories and discoveries to be made as one passes their finger from where they are to where they could go. Some might say you get a bigger picture with a hardcopy map, a broader perspective on the landscape. However, I like so many of us tend not to feel the need for hardcopy maps anymore. In saying that, I can vividly remember when they were essential kit.

Anyone over 25 years of age probably remembers the UBD and how indispensable that was for getting around the city and suburbs, or finding that elusive house party? How many of us, upon getting our first car,  received one of these map books as a present from a wise friend or relative? Now of course all that content is reliably available on our phones at the press of a button. Or is that actually true? Let’s ignore the 2012 Apple Maps debacle for the time being… When you think of remote area travel, and battery charging, the digital content is not available all the time really is it? Although this is something we work on with our own apps at Gaia Resources – but more on that later.

Now back to the recap on my trip – I’ve just left Aileron Roadhouse (with its seriously impressive 17m high Man on the Hill  and equally impressive Anmatjere Woman and Child sculptures). We’ve already passed through Alice Springs after having camped at a spectacular spot called the Ellery Creek Big Hole in the West McDonnell National Park.

The 17m high sculpture of the Man on the Hill (left) and the Woman and child (right) puts Aileron Roadhouse on the map! Worth a stop.

This is a unique place of twisted folding rocks surrounding a water hole that would make any geologist forget how cold the water is and jump straight in to get to the other side (I feel a chicken joke coming on).

The Ellery Creek Bighole in the McDonnell Ranges was a seriously gnarly place 400 million years ago, and pretty impressive results today.

So within 2 minutes of driving north from Aileron we are again out of mobile data range, and I instinctively pull out the Australia Road and 4WD Atlas to reflect on the last few days travel and to look ahead. Yep, back to the hard copy map. In fact, the map book has been pulled out so many times now and used a way to discuss sealed and unsealed route options, distances and interesting spots to have lunch or stay overnight. It’s a way of sharing stories with fellow travellers at the pub and at the campground – friendly people who have been where you are going and can impart local knowledge of road conditions, food options and the value of taking a small detour to relax in one of many waterholes spotted through the truly massive Northern Territory.

 Our camping set-up at Devils Marbles (left) and the girls in my life relaxing at sunset. One of those magical places you might have driven past if it weren’t for someone at your campsite sharing their story.
Below: Play time! A Big Red joey kangaroo was being fostered at the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art & Culture Centre.

Using a map to share stories reminds me of the Australian indigenous people who have been doing something very similar for a lot longer than topographic maps have been around. We stepped in to look at a number of aboriginal art galleries on our trip into the Red Centre including at Uluru and Tennant Creek (the latter gallery had this little trooper at left as the main attraction).

It’s fascinating to learn how different regions use different styles of dot painting to share stories of the landscape, food (bush tucker) and water sources, and special meeting places.  In the  Nyinkka Nyunyu Art & Culture Centre in Tennant Creek for instance, we got to meet the female artists of the Barkely Region who paint circular patterns representing soaks (near surface water sources), bush tucker (grubs, ants, goannas) and medicinal plants.

In the region around Uluru, painting on canvas is relatively new but the women of the Anangu Uwankaruku Punu often combine dot paintings with the beautiful swaying leaf patterns representing medicinal plants like the Irmangka-Irmangka which is used as a sticky gel for tea, application on the chest for colds and headaches, or on bites and stings.

Groups around the Central Desert regions often employ the patchwork dot painting pattern I really like as a map geek because it practically represents an aerial interpretation of the landscape and different vegetation assemblages of their region. I can almost imagine the way in which their art serves a very practical purpose and focal point to educate and share knowledge.

I’m not saying that hardcopy topographic maps have been rendered to the status of a historical archive or art work – in fact we see old maps being re-used and delivering new insights to current challenges including the work Jake in our team has done previously with the State Records Office and their historical map archives. Visualisation of historical map features changing over time can help us understand the history of places and how cities grew and evolved. Government agencies are realising that their aerial imagery and cadastral map archives are treasure troves of information to help with planning decisions, genealogical enquiries and archaeological studies.

It’s been a long time since Gaia Resources had a plotter in the corner of the office pumping out large-scale maps for our clients – but it used to be all about those A0 and A1 plots depicting our client’s survey data, landuse and satellite imagery, unrolled fresh off the plotter and straight into a meeting of scientists and decision makers. As a spatial company in the early days, Piers would tell you we lived and breathed that kind of work.

These days we get more involved in system development and mobile applications with mapping functionality that depend on digital products like those from Geoscience Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology, and State government portals. Leveraging the Digital Earth Australia products for our NRM clients GRID web mapping system and Here as the base for the desktop app we’ve built for Wildlife Drones are good examples.

We have also pumped a fair amount of research and development into building an offline maps capability in our mobile applications – recognising that base maps like the 250k Topographic Series, Here, Google Maps and Mapbox offer offline APIs and are in demand for our clients working out beyond mobile range. In some cases – like for our Health department clients monitoring mosquitoes – it is actually as much about being offline in an urban environment where the field workforce can still collect location-specific field data using devices without SIM cards or wifi coverage.

Jake from our team near Tom Price demonstrating a Fulcrum-based project for the Banjima Rangers (left). Field data capture and access to base maps can be challenging when you are deep in the Western Australian bushland (right).

On reflection, what I think you realise as a mapping professional is that you haven’t given up on those hardcopy maps – you have been part of a story of their evolution into something that continues to have great relevance in people’s lives. I love hearing about a new insight from an old map made digital, or a new digital product that could be a game changer for our clients – just as much as I still enjoy thumbing over towns and tracks on my 4WD Atlas as I travel around this big red continent.

If you’d like to know more about our work with historical maps, or how we can deliver digital mapping products, systems and mobile apps to help with your business, then please feel to start a conversation on any of the regular channels ( Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook) or send me an email on chris.roach@gaiaresources.com.au.

Chris

The post Are hardcopy maps a thing of the past? appeared first on Gaia Resources.

The app allows the community to record sightings of certain urban wildlife species, which feeds into research and evidence-based management of these species. First launched in early 2017, it originally included modules for flying foxes, beneficial insects and some species of frogs.

We are very excited to have added a possum and glider module recently, as part of a collaboration between the Threatened Species Recovery (TSR) Hub and the CAUL Hub.

The possum and glider module follows a similar format to other three, with clear screens for recording observations, uploading data and viewing all possum and glider records on a map.

There are 27 species of possum and glider across Australia, so to save users scrolling through all 27 species when making an observation, we configured the app to provide a customised list of species for each user based on their current location (using a geofencing approach).

Possum and glider module in the CAUL Urban Wildlife App

I really enjoyed working with lead researcher Dr Rochelle Steven (University of Queensland) on this new module. Rochelle is very passionate about Australia’s possums and gliders and believes people in the community can do a lot to help support better conservation, especially in urban areas.

“Some people think urban areas are not important for threatened species conservation, but some species are only or mainly found in urban areas, like South Western Australia’s Critically Endangered western ringtail possum,” said Dr Steven.

“Almost a quarter of our possums and gliders are listed as threatened under Australian environmental law, and many more show signs of decline.

“The main threat to Australia’s possums and gliders is habitat loss, but in urban areas, dogs, cats, being hit by cars are also major problems.

“Knowing where species are and how they are using the urban environment is an important first step to conserving them, and we are calling on citizen scientists to help us by submitting sightings through the CAUL Urban Wildlife app”.

In this video, Rochelle describes her research into using citizen science for the management of threatened species, and the addition of the possum and glider module to the Urban Wildlife App.

Video about citizen science research (source: TSR Hub Facebook)

For more information about the research project see the TSR Hub news.

The possum and glider citizen science project is a collaboration between the Threatened Species Recovery Hub and the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub, with funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program and the National Landcare Program through the South West Catchments Council.

The CAUL Urban Wildlife app is freely available on both iOS and Android platforms, and can be downloaded from the Gaia Resources pages on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

For more information about the modular approach and technical solution we implemented for the Urban Wildlife App, please see our project summary.

If you’re interested in Citizen Science and mobile data collection apps that could help your organisation, feel free to contact me, or start a chat with us via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Gill

The post Possums and Gliders now in the Urban Wildlife app appeared first on Gaia Resources.