Useful software, out in the field.

The challenge

Community conservation groups needed a practical way to record observations in the field and report to stakeholders. Data was scattered across tools for health and safety, trapping, volunteer management and bird monitoring.

A custom application could fit an individual group’s process, but development, hosting and maintenance costs were difficult to support through community funding. The project needed a shared foundation that each group could adapt.

One platform, several ways to collect data

I built a web application, mobile application and API for recording and sharing conservation data. Custom forms let groups capture the information their own projects needed, from volunteer activity and bird nests to geospatial observations.

Offline mobile support allowed people to record data in the field. Data conversion and geospatial queries helped turn those observations into information teams could use.

Community tools and reporting

An event manager, community noticeboard and granular access controls supported the people doing the work. The API gave groups a way to build their own data capture tools while sharing the same recording and reporting foundation.

Reporting supported established formats for activities such as Kiwi call and Bittern monitoring, helping groups provide useful data to their stakeholders.

Technical decisions behind the project

The project’s web app and API used Next.js on Vercel, with end-to-end testing and a workflow for developing new features. The field application used React Native and Expo.

MongoDB supported the project’s geospatial data and the varied records groups needed to store. Its document model suited forms and access patterns that differed between conservation activities.

The result

By 2023, more than 120 groups and 1,000 individual users had used the platform to record over 200,000 conservation datapoints. It supported community groups, local councils and conservation stakeholders across New Zealand.