By Sam Niedra, Executive Officer, Albury Conservation Company
Want to know more about the wildlife living in your backyard, urban park or local nature reserve? Would you like to contribute sightings and share your knowledge to help build a photographic library of Albury Wodonga’s
unique and precious wildlife? Interested in connecting with other locals who share your interest and passion for nature? If you answered yes, then Albury Wodonga Nature Map is for you!
Albury Wodonga Nature Map (AWNM) is part of the NatureMapr citizen science platform, established in Canberra in 2014. AWNM was launched in May 2020 by Albury Conservation Company, with funding support
from the Australian Government (Communities Environment Program), the Ross Trust, and the Festival of Folk Rhythm and Life. The platform is also supported by Albury and Wodonga councils.
To date, AWNM’s achievements have been impressive. 120 members have already signed up to this free service, and have helped to contribute 66,000 sightings of 2,292 species in 274 locations. The site is quickly
becoming a treasure trove for local wildlife information and is getting 8,000 unique web visitors (individuals) per month.
How does it work?
There are two key elements to AWNM. Firstly, there is the website (https://alburywodonga.naturemapr.org).
Secondly, there is the NatureMapr smartphone app which can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Wildlife sightings can be added instantly in the field via the phone app, or later via the website. The records uploaded to AWNM are harvested by the Atlas of Living Australia.
Don’t know the species or whether it’s native or not? No problem, when you add a photo to AWNM one of our expert moderators will quickly identify and name the species for you.
How is this different to iNaturalist?
NatureMapr started before iNaturalist and is 100% Australian made, owned and hosted. AWNM is also tailored specifically to our region. For example, it has mapped over 150 local
nature reserves and urban parks, and comprehensive photographic field guides for these sites are being developed. AWNM also supports and fosters our incredibly passionate local network of contributors and expert moderators.
So what are you waiting for?
Join Albury Wodonga Nature Map today and help build our collective understanding of our precious local wildlife. With your input, we can understand and conserve even our most threatened wildlife.