GiGL acts as a local node of the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) which is working to make biodiversity data available across the UK. The GiGL team recently attended the NBN’s annual conference, held at The Royal Society here in London. It was a fantastic day of extremely interesting talks, include a presentation given by GiGL’s Operations Manager Matt Davies.
Local records centres (LRCs) like GiGL are very important contributors to the NBN. About 1/3 of all records on the NBN gateway are from LRCs, of which about 10% is from the seven South East Local Records Centres. It’s not just about species records on the gateway, however. As an active member of the broader NBN we have collaborated with the NBN Trust on a range of projects; from pioneering delivery of information via web services back in 2006, to World Heritage Site bids, to citizen science via customised Indicia web forms.
Matt used his presentation to showcase some of the more unusual projects and initiatives GiGL and our partnership’s data has been used for. This included the use of GiGL data within the planning of prestigious events, such as the 2012 Olympics, and use of the data operationally by Transport for London and London Fire Brigade. Matt also outlined our role within projects aiming to shift public perceptions, such as the plight of the Reimagine London project, novel research, such as The Garden Research Project, and facilitating targeted on the ground gains for London’s wildlife and people, such as the The Mayor’s Street Tree project which resulted in 10,000 trees being planted in locations identified by GiGL modelling.
If you have any questions about these projects, or ideas for new collaborations, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.