The OPAL project has completed its first year at the end of December 2008 and the work being carried out by the NBN is now well underway.
Here’s some background
At the end of July 2008, the Lottery Board approved funding for a Big Lottery Fund, Changing Spaces project called OPAL (Open Air Laboratories).
The NBN is contributing in two main ways. The first is to provide a Gateway Polygon service. This will deliver appropriate species data web services to tailored web sites delivering local data to local groups. Rapid feedback on data collection and the integration of new data with the existing wealth of biodiversity data is seen as an important positive encouragement for citizen scientists new to biological recording.
Furthermore the existing capabilities of the NBN Gateway, which can hold and display distributional (recorded against the national grid) species data, will be extended to enable the holding and display of standardised habitat information, and other attributed polygon data, linked to OPAL study areas. This enhancement will include appropriate search facilities and web services to integrate with the existing species data services. The project will thus be able to underpin biodiversity data collection and dissemination for all the OPAL projects.
Richard Burkmar was employed by Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on behalf of the NBN Trust to carry out the polygon work. The Gateway has a very steep learning curve, but it wasn’t long before Richard started to make some headway on this project. It will still be some time however before the polygon web service will be available
The second part of the funding will pay for the development of an open source Web Recorder data entry system. This will allow citizen scientist recorders to input their data onto the NBN or databases run by other OPAL partners without having to run a local database, and all that entails, on their own PC. This will break down one of the major barriers to citizen involvement in data projects.
The web recorder is currently under development and is being developed on behalf of the NBN Trust by JVB Consultancy. The new system is being called Indicia and has its own development forum
More about OPAL
OPAL is a consortium project with three main partners: Imperial College, London, Natural History Museum and Open University. The funding is for a five year period and the first year has just been completed.
The portfolio partners also include nine regional universities, Field Studies Council, Meteorological Office, and Royal Parks. The Environment Agency will be working closely with partners to support the OPAL objectives.
The principal focus of the project is on engaging members of the public in recording and monitoring different aspects of the natural world. To do this, a wide range of sub-projects will be developed across England. It is too early to give any detail of these at this stage, but OPAL will provide the training, practical experience, tools and support needed for communities to record the plants, animals and fungi in their local environments.
Mission Statement:
“The Open Air Laboratories Network celebrates biodiversity, environmental quality and people’s engagement with nature.”
OPAL will establish a multi-sited, inter-disciplinary study of the world around us and will create a hub for information, interaction, training and dialogue. Through this new network, communities will be inspired by nature and have the opportunity to equip themselves with the skills and experience to explore, study, enjoy and protect it.
Objectives:
The Open Air Laboratories Network aims to create:
- A change of lifestyle, inspiring people both to spend time outside and to contribute to improving biodiversity and wildlife habitats
- A new generation of nature lovers
- An exciting and innovative educational programme that can be accessed and enjoyed by all ages and abilities
- A much greater understanding of the state of the natural environment and its biodiversity, particularly in the most economically impoverished parts of England
- Stronger partnerships between the community, voluntary and statutory sectors
Desired outcomes of the five year project:
1. Over 1 million people will have increased knowledge and awareness of the quality of open spaces around them through community engagement programmes and interactive websites. They will have a greater appreciation of special conservation sites and the importance of protecting our heritage and of the contribution individuals can make.
2. OPAL will create a new generation of nature lovers, many drawn from sections of society currently under-represented in amateur natural history groups. Active membership of twenty amateur natural history societies will increase by 10%. People will be better able to safeguard their local environment for local residents, their children and future generations.
3. OPAL will deliver an innovative educational programme for all ages, backgrounds and abilities. It will design and distribute 200,000 teaching packs, associated with the OPAL thematic programmes on biodiversity and bio-monitoring. Through new approaches to learning, people will gain the opportunity to become active participants and the knowledge and confidence to enter into debates on environmental issues.
4. Local people will be able to participate in projects to help to monitor the state of the natural environment and its biodiversity. OPAL will help some of the most disadvantaged communities to identify, quantify and highlight environmentally deprived spaces.
5. Partnerships will increase between the community, voluntary and statutory sectors. Scientists at nine regional universities, with the help of specialist national centres, will build connections with those who have an aspiration or need to improve local environments. The portfolio will engage with over 500,000 people to encourage a greater sense of ownership of their local environment.