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Sunsetting NatureLynx

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We have bittersweet news: As of April 1, we will begin phasing out the NatureLyx platform.

Dear NatureLynx users, 

We have bittersweet news: As of April 1, we will begin phasing out the NatureLyx platform.

Over the past five years, we’ve been amazed to see the advancements in citizen science and the number of platforms and applications now available to support citizen scientists. It’s easier than ever to access tools, share your data, and connect with your community. We’re humbled that NatureLynx played a small part in this growth, and delighted that the world of citizen science is flourishing. But, as we celebrate how far the space has come, we feel it’s time to take a step back and re-consider how we can best contribute to its future.

We’re incredibly proud to have worked with Alberta’s growing community of citizen scientists. Together, the NatureLynx community contributed nearly 21,500 species occurrence data points throughout our province. These data help tell the story of Alberta’s living heritage and contribute to a legacy of biodiversity information for our province. From Hands-on Alberta missions and the BiodiverCity Challenge to municipal partnerships and the Citizen Science Community of Practice, NatureLynx helped support an emerging grassroots movement. We’re inspired by the many capable, enthusiastic voices now championing the cause of citizen science in Alberta.

We remain committed to mobilizing the sightings shared to NatureLynx to support the monitoring of Alberta’s species and their habitats. We encourage you to continue to explore opportunities to participate in citizen science and biodiversity monitoring within your communities, and look forward to supporting Alberta’s citizen scientists in new ways in the years ahead.

We will continue to keep you informed as things evolve, but for now here are a few things you can expect in the coming months:

  1. Removal of app from the App Store and Google Play

As we work to phase out the platform, we will no longer be supporting the development of the NatureLynx application, and the tool will eventually be pulled from the App Store and Google Play. We ask that as of April 01, 2022, you no longer share your sightings to NatureLynx.

  1. Ongoing access to NatureLynx sightings and user accounts on the website

For the time being, the NatureLynx website will remain active so that you can access your profiles, groups and missions, and all of the citizen science data on the NatureLynx website. Don’t forget about the recently added “map view” modeā —it’s a great way to help visualize all the sightings collected by the NatureLynx community. If you’re looking for help on how to access and download NatureLynx data, please visit our blog post: the down-low on downloading data. 

  1. Continued Sighting Verification

We will continue to work with our experts to review and verify sightings already shared to NatureLynx. To date, our experts have verified over 65% of all sightings shared to the platform. We will continue to review sightings over the coming months. 

  1. Upholding our commitment to data sharing and accessibility

As we work to review and verify more sightings on the platform, we will continue to explore options for data sharing. We will uphold our commitments to sharing our data with the Government of Alberta’s Fisheries and Wildlife Management Information System (FWMIS) and contribute our sightings to the international Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) database. We’ll also be exploring the possibility of uploading legacy NatureLynx data to other citizen science apps, if feasible.

  1. Ongoing support of citizen science in Alberta

Keep the positive momentum going! We encourage you to continue sharing your citizen science observations using alternative apps like iNaturalist and eBird. And, while you won’t see the NatureLynx name, we’ll still be working with the many partners and friends we’ve made over the past five years in support of Alberta’s citizen scientists. Stay tuned.

We will continue to update you as things develop. With heartfelt thanks for your contributions and continued support,

The NatureLynx team

naturelynx@ualberta.ca

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