Although this curriculum focuses mostly on accessing and using data from NatureCounts, it is also handy to know how NatureCounts supports data collection. Through its mobile app and web interface, NatureCounts fulfills the data collection needs of dozens of citizen science and research programs in both Canada and the United States.

Photo: Kris Cu

In contrast to semi-structured data collection programs like eBird, NatureCounts supports structured data collection tailored to the needs of monitoring programs like breeding bird atlases, waterbird surveys, marsh monitoring programs, and others. Its flexible architecture supports nearly any monitoring protocol, and though it was developed with birds in mind, it works equally well with other taxa.

The NatureCounts data collection tools benefit data users, too, as data collected via the app or entered via the web interface are standardized to NatureCounts’ data schema (the Bird Monitoring Data Exchange) and made available for sharing through NatureCounts quickly. Because the app guides users through data collection, and there has been no transcription or reformatting, the resulting data is as accurate and error-free as possible.

Photo: Kris Cu

To learn more about data collection through NatureCounts, visit the NatureCounts Mobile App page. If you would like to inquire about using the NatureCounts platform for your data collection, you can begin by completing the NatureCounts App Inquiry form.

Next section: NatureCounts as a Source for Data