Nature Overheard survey

These frequently asked questions specifically relate to the Nature Overheard roadside activity. If your question is not answered here, email the team your question at communityscience@nhm.ac.uk with Nature Overheard as the subject. 

Ideally how far away from the road should I survey?

Your 10m x 2m survey area should be at least two metres away from the edge of the road for safety reasons, but otherwise you can complete your survey at any other distance away from the road, so long as it is no more than 10 metres away from the edge.

What if I can’t identify any of the things I see?

If you are not sure what groups the creatures you see fit into, just make sure to take a photo of each one and record them in the 'other' category, along with the number you saw. This will enable us to group your findings for you. 

Can I record the species I see?

We hope to build species-level recordings into this survey in the future, but for now please try and take a photo of everything you see, even if you know what it is. 

I didn’t record any insects along my survey area, should I still submit my data?

Please submit all information that you collected during your survey even if you did not record any insects as it is still valuable to know where there are no insects! 

I reached the limit of how many photos I was able to upload, what should I do?

We hope that this won’t happen, but please be sure to upload the best photo of each individual you saw. 

What happens if I make a mistake when inputting the data, can it be edited?

Please take your time when submitting your data to avoid any errors, however, if this happens, please email us at communityscience@nhm.ac.uk with Nature Overheard as the subject.

What happens to the information I submit?

The data from the project will go onto the Museum’s new data platform, the Data Ecosystem, which is being built using Amazon Web Services technologies. Any personal data is limited to:
1) a name, necessary for the purposes of forming a biological record
2) an email address, should you wish and consent to receive news and project updates.

You can also read the Museum's full privacy notice.

When should I submit my data by?

We encourage you to share your data as soon as possible following your survey to ensure accuracy and for it to be included in the latest analysis. 

When will you provide results of the survey?

To receive regular updates and summaries of the data submitted, be sure to include an email address and consent to communications from the Community Science Programme when you upload data.

Or you can sign up to our mailing list.

If I want to do the survey more than once, is it better to repeat a previous section of a road, or to choose a different location?

Repeated surveys in the same area will be extremely valuable to help us gather as much information as possible and look at changes over time, but if you’d like to survey a different road then this information is also valuable.