A ‘Road Trip’ Boredom Buster for Kids of All Ages
Here’s a great idea for the kids during Christmas holiday ‘road trips’; it costs nothing and provides hours of endless fun and entertainment in the back seat of the car.
Ecologist Dr Colin Meurk says the idea is simple but will help contribute to our knowledge of New Zealand’s natural history.
As they travel children note on a road map simple things like roadkill (possums, hedgehogs, etc.) as well as live specimens such as magpies, harrier hawks and cabbage trees. Then, as they get more confident, they can then try to spot and identify a wider range of wildlife. When next they are plugged into the Internet, they then record these observations, for themselves, family members and all to see on a unique new website.
The New Zealand Biodiversity Recording Network (NZBRN) is an online systemfor viewing and recording contemporary or historical natural history observations from around the country.
You can view and record observations of birds, plants (including bryophytes and lichens), fungi, mammals, lizards/frogs, and some invertebrates including butterflies. The animal portals use standard common names and the plant and fungal portals use Latin names — so have a Flora guide with you or you can use the NZ Plant Names Database or the NZ Plant Conservation Network.
You don’t have to know grid references (as these are automated), or the correct name spelling (as these are in dropdown lists).
You can view existing records (‘show records’) and ‘sign up’ to get a password, then ‘log in’ to ‘create records’ usually by setting up a new site or using an existing one. Information can be viewed as lists or distribution maps or exported into an Excel spreadsheet. So you can create your own personal diary of your journey.
Dr Meurk says the bases for viewing or recording data are ‘zoomable’ maps that take you right down to street level. If you are in a remote part of the country, the standard NZMS map contours, waterways, and place names help you to orientate yourself. It can help to have a NZMS or road map with you to locate places where roads or names are sparse.
’So, when you travel around the country over the holidays in the car, boat, cycle, horse or on foot, make a note of what you see – both common and rare species – and when back in the world of broadband enter the information.’
You can set up a site in your backyard – to note the birds visiting the garden during the BBQ – or down at the beach, at the bach or in the motel garden. All these records will help to make the NZBRN information and maps more accurate and comprehensive. They will be just as good as you make them.