You can tell us about any site you are interested in, but bear in mind that our particular knowledge gaps relate to small streams and lakes. We are primarily collecting information on habitat naturalness, but we would also like to know about other things, such as the species you see.
You don’t have to be expert – the system is designed to allow anyone to provide information. If you don’t know about some aspects of a site then it is fine to just fill in what you can! If you’re not sure what to put you can tell us that you’re not confident in your assessment and we’ll take that into account.
At regular intervals naturalness data will be used to update the official priority river/stream and lake habitat maps. To see what being on the priority habitat map means click here. Information on sites not currently in a state to be added to the priority habitat map will be used to inform restoration priorities. If a site is restored to a sufficient level of naturalness it can then be added to the relevant priority habitat map.
How to complete a naturalness survey
To get involved with this project and contribute data, you will need to complete a naturalness survey on your chosen site, be it lake, river or stream. We have created guidance documents and annexes that will help you to do this, as well as printable versions of the forms that you will eventually fill in online. We suggest you read the documents below before starting your survey, as they provide tips on how to fill out the forms, and how best to capture data about your site. Documents are available in PDF format.
For RIVERS and STREAMS: | River and stream naturalness assessment – guidance document | Annex I – Printable river naturalness survey form to use in field | Annex II – Examples of classifying stream naturalness | Annex III – Photo-library of key habitat features | Annex IV – List of species of high priority for recording |
For LAKES: | Lake naturalness assessment – guidance document | Annex I – Printable lake naturalness survey form to use in field| Annex II – Physical naturalness photographs | Annex III – Hydrological naturalness photographs| Annex IV – Chemical naturalness photographs | Annex V – Plant functional group photographs | Annex VI – Further species recording |
What we will do with your data
Any data entered onto the data portal will be available on the website for others to see. At regular intervals these data will be used to update the priority habitat maps. To see what being on the priority habitat map means click here. Information on sites not currently in a state to be added to the priority habitat map will be used to inform restoration priorities. If a site is restored to a sufficient level of naturalness it can then be added to the priority habitat map.
How to add information
We use an online data portal to collect, organise, and map naturalness data. Our team are able to give you access to the ‘River and Lake Naturalness’ work space upon request. If you have already been granted access to the workspace, click below to log in.
If you would like to gain access to the workspace, and input your data, simply fill in the form below and we’ll contact you by email to get you set up:
Cartographer is a web application that currently requires an active Internet connection. If you are in the middle of the countryside, you may not be able to get access to the site to record new assessments. You can download printable PDFs of the guidance survey forms for use in the field using the links above. A Cartographer app will soon be available that will allow users to record assessments without an internet connection.