GIS dashboard helps to visualise biodiversity

On November 20th, we celebrate World GIS Day, an annual event dedicated to showing, teaching and inspiring others in using GIS (Geographic Information System). It aims to raise awareness of how GIS technology supports everything, from environmental conservation to urban planning, by providing tools for mapping and spatial analysis. The day encourages GIS professionals to showcase projects, share knowledge, and inspire others to explore the possibilities of geographic science.

The Estates Information and Systems (EIS) team has been leveraging GIS technology to enhance both its approach to operational activities and strategic insights. Through the development of a Digital Campus we are capturing data across University sites to enable improved access to data within the field and the ability to visualise key statistics across our campuses.

Among the EIS team’s GIS-driven projects are the cataloguing of campus trees, the creation of 3D building maps, the detailed mapping of campus infrastructure, and the integration of various estates datasets to deepen site knowledge. These initiatives provide a comprehensive understanding of campus assets and support informed decision-making across the university.

One key development within Estates focuses on understanding and promoting biodiversity across our campus. The Energy and Sustainability Team have been working with the EIS team to map species presence and to record habitat creation projects using GIS and have developed a new Dashboard of data.

Play your part in biodiversity monitoring

Much of the data on our new Dashboard comes from staff and student observations and you can play a big part in helping us further understand species presence and absence across site. We encourage everyone to use the iNaturalist app to identify species and record locations of sightings. The app is suitable for all as it uses AI technology to identify the species before other users verify sightings as ‘research grade’.

Your observations will increase our knowledge of the occurrence of species across campus, how new habitats support wildlife and identify opportunities to enhance the area further for biodiversity. One example of how GIS is informing our campus development is through mapping results of hedgehog surveys, which has identified opportunities for new hedgerow creation, some of which will be planted this autumn/winter.

In addition to data from iNaturalist, we receive data from the Warwickshire Biological Records Centre, and we also ask people to share their own observations with us. If you see a woodpecker flying through the trees, or hear a song thrush singing in the woodland, but can’t record it on iNaturalist then please share its What3Word location with us and we’ll be able to add it to our GIS Dashboard.

We have a wonderfully green campus and are working to enhance it further for nature and for people. Can you find time between lectures or on your lunch break to explore campus, observe wildlife and contribute to our knowledge of species?

To find out more contact sustainability@warwick.ac.uk