Following the success of the biodiversity data management tools workshops organised by the NBN Trust and JNCC in Edinburgh and London last year, Defra provided extra funding to run an additional workshop in Birmingham on the 20th March 2012. The workshop showcased innovative new tools and technology developed by NBN partners, particularly Local Environmental Records Centres.
In a departure from the format of last year’s workshops, this event incorporated 1 hour demonstrations as well as 3 hour hands-on practical sessions. Mark Wills and Dan Jones from the Yorkshire and Humber Environmental Data Trust gave a live demonstration of their online data search portal which integrates data from the NBN Gateway with data from a Recorder database into reports for clients. They also demonstrated the latest developments to the Second Site system, a flexible database framework for management of site-based spatial and ecological data.
Several systems for online recording were presented to enable participants to compare the benefits of each one. John van Breda from Biodiverse IT and Jim Bacon from the Biological Records Centre ran a session on Indicia, during which participants followed step-by-step exercises to set up an online recording website from scratch.
Roy Tapping from Cofnod gave a presentation on ORCA (Online Record Centre Administration), a system developed specifically for Local Environmental Records Centres which incorporates a contacts database, a correspondence and time management system, a meta-database and a system for logging data requests.
Eric Fletcher and Luck Lunla from RECORD in Cheshire demonstrated RODIS (RECORD Online Data Input System), which has already been adopted by several other LERCs. RODIS ensures that records are formatted correctly, screens out duplicates, allows verifiers to log in remotely to verify new data as it is submitted, and enables recorders to securely manage and share their data.
Adrian Bicker gave a demonstration of Living Record, a web application that gives users their own personal records system and access to a range of shared real-time distribution maps.
In addition to this new content, the workshop provided another chance to learn about NBN Web Services, the NBN Gateway and NBN Record Cleaner, which again proved very popular.
-small.jpg "John van Breda and Jim Bacon show participants how to set up online recording with Indicia")
The workshop attracted over 40 participants from across England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands. Subsequent feedback has been very positive, with the majority of participants stating that they intend to start using the new tools within the next year. As at the previous workshops, several participants commented that they would have preferred a two-day workshop to enable them to attend all the available sessions. However, everyone said it had been worth their while to attend and that they would like to attend similar events in future. In particular, many participants commented on the value of the event for networking. One participant said “It was brilliant hearing about all the tools developed by Local Environmental Records Centres and how these could be used by other LERCs…it was a good opportunity to speak to people who have more technical knowledge than me, and hear their thoughts on the different tools on offer.”
The NBN Trust and ALERC (Association of Local Environmental Records Centres) will follow up with workshop participants over the coming months to help them adopt the new tools and technology.