A jungle in Europe? Sure – at least in the digital world of apps for ranger work that the Swiss Rangers see. They have therefore invited to their annual exchange of experiences organised by Pro Natura, a Swiss environmental organisation, under this motto: ‘Guide through the app jungle – identify – record – report’. Our ERF board members Adam J. Norton Turner and Lars Scharfe joined and share their findings here.
ERF Project Officer Adam from Sweden was invited by Pro Natura to the event in the canton Bern as certified trainer for SMART to introduce the the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool used by rangers and conservationists worldwide. He, our Administrative Officer and IRF Europe Representative Lars Scharfe and more than 30 other participants were also introduced to the apps by four rangers from the Swiss Rangers, which have been customised for use in their protected areas.
Why not use a globally popular app like SMART? The rangers and nature conservation practitioners from Swiss Rangers, Info Natura, Info Species and the ERF discussed the issue. One finding: The in-house creations are as perfectly customised to the needs of their own areas as a widely used app can never be. They are also user-friendly and uncomplicated, which is important for rangers’ rounds in the field. It became clear that this is also possible with SMART, but applying this app would require more training.
‘Digital apps make the rangers’ work validable and allow to plan patrols, identify hotspots, species distribution and monitoring results.’
Lars summarises the exchange: ‘The big advantage of the apps, whether SMART or own creations, is that they make the rangers’ work validable and allow to plan patrols.’ He also finds it important that the management does not record working hours and break times in most cases. ‘So these are not tools for controlling staff, but are used to identify patrol hotspots, species distribution and monitoring results.’
But unfortunately, and this is the disadvantage of customised apps, they are mostly not easy to transfer to other protected areas and countries. And yet: it is of course possible to buy licences and at least create versions in other languages. For example, Adam discussed the use of the iRanger app for Sweden that the Swiss ranger Tobias Klein presented. SMART, on the other hand, can be used by anyone free of charge.
Probably the most important that Lars and Adam will take home: There is a lot of valuable know-how that other rangers and organisations can use by sharing their experiences. If not the software, then the important features that are needed for the ranger service.
‘This meeting once again revealed how incredibly many resources there are in the national associations and how indispensable exchanges like this are to expand the professionalism of ranger work throughout Europe.’
Lars: ‘You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but can benefit from the network that we offer, as is so often the case. This meeting showed me once again how incredibly many resources there are in the national associations and how indispensable exchanges like this are to expand the professionalism of ranger work throughout Europe.’
Practical insights were provided by Tobias to Lars and Adam on an excursion around Lake Greifensee – demonstrating the app of Griffin Ranger GmbH under real-life conditions in rain and wind.
© all photos by Lars Scharfe and Adam J. Norton Turner