Our Mission

NativeAtlas is a citizen science platform that brings together community groups, professional researchers, and conservation organisations with a shared purpose: to systematically record where native species live, breed, and move across the landscape.

While our roots are in bird atlassing across Australia, NativeAtlas is designed as a global platform for all native species. By cataloguing sightings in a standardised grid pattern, we build a living picture of biodiversity that informs conservation decisions, tracks environmental change, and highlights the critical importance of healthy ecosystems to a sustainable future.

A Platform for All Native Species

Today, NativeAtlas focuses on bird sightings — the most widely observed and recorded group of wildlife. Birds are among the most visible and sensitive indicators of ecosystem health, making them an ideal starting point for a biodiversity atlas.

In the future, we will expand to support mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, plants, and other native species groups. The same grid-based observation framework that works for birds scales naturally to any species, anywhere in the world. Our goal is a single platform where any community — from a local bushcare group to a national research programme — can record, explore, and share species data.

Bridging Communities, Science, and Policy

Conservation works best when the people who observe nature, the scientists who study it, and the policymakers who protect it are all working from the same evidence base. NativeAtlas is built to serve all three:

• Community groups — local birding clubs, land-care networks, Indigenous ranger programmes, and school groups use NativeAtlas to record what they see and contribute to a shared body of knowledge
• Scientists and researchers — ecologists, universities, and conservation bodies use atlas data to identify biodiversity hotspots, track population trends, and design evidence-based conservation strategies
• Policymakers and land managers — governments and planning authorities use atlas data to guide sustainable development, protect critical habitat, and measure the effectiveness of environmental programs

By bringing these groups together on a single platform, NativeAtlas ensures that every observation recorded by a volunteer in the field can flow directly into the scientific and policy processes that shape our environment.

Why Atlassing Matters

Changes in species populations and distributions signal shifts in habitat quality, climate patterns, and environmental pressures. When a species disappears from an area or a new species arrives, it tells a story about the landscape.

A comprehensive species atlas provides the baseline data needed to:

• Identify areas of high biodiversity value that deserve protection
• Track the effects of habitat loss, climate change, and urbanisation on native populations
• Detect declines in threatened species early enough to intervene
• Monitor the success of conservation programs and habitat restoration
• Guide sustainable development planning around sensitive ecosystems

The Atlas Grid System

NativeAtlas uses a geographic grid system based on degrees and minutes of latitude and longitude. This is the same grid system used by atlas projects worldwide, providing a standardised framework for recording where sightings occur.

How It Works

The landscape is divided into a matrix of cells, each defined by one minute of latitude and one minute of longitude. At the latitudes of New South Wales (roughly 28°S to 38°S), each grid cell covers approximately:

• North-South: ~1.85 km (one minute of latitude)
• East-West: ~1.5 km (one minute of longitude, varies with latitude)

The Coordinate Format

Sighting locations are recorded using a compact degrees-and-minutes notation:

Latitude (DDMM)

Four digits representing degrees and minutes south. For example, 3055 means 30 degrees 55 minutes South (approximately Sydney's latitude). The valid range for NSW is 2800 to 3800.

Longitude (DDDMM)

Five digits representing degrees and minutes east. For example, 15305 means 153 degrees 05 minutes East. The valid range for NSW is 14100 to 15900.

Higher Precision (DDMMSS / DDDMMSS)

For finer positioning, seconds can be appended: 305530 (30°55'30"S) or 1530530 (153°05'30"E). This narrows the location to approximately 30 metres.

The Grid Overlay

On the interactive map, you can toggle an atlas grid overlay to visualise the degree-minute matrix. The gridlines show at different resolutions depending on zoom level:

• Overview zoom: 1-degree grid (broad regional areas)
• Medium zoom: 15-minute grid (landscape-scale survey areas)
• Detail zoom: 1-minute grid (individual atlas cells)

Grid labels use the DDMM/DDDMM notation, directly connecting what you see on the map to the data entry format.

Organisations

NativeAtlas supports multiple organisations, each operating as a community of observers sharing a dataset and working toward common research goals. Organisations can range from local birding clubs to national scientific bodies to international conservation networks.

When you create an account, you can browse the directory of organisations and request to join those that interest you. Organisations manage their own data — when sighting sheets are submitted and approved, they are associated with the observer's organisation, creating a curated, quality-controlled dataset for research and reporting.

Ecosystems and Sustainability

Every observation recorded in NativeAtlas contributes to a growing body of evidence about the health of ecosystems around the world. Native species depend on complex webs of habitat, food sources, and seasonal patterns. By mapping these dependencies, we reveal the interconnected systems that all life — including human communities — relies upon.

Sustainable land management begins with understanding what lives where. Atlas data helps answer fundamental questions: Which forests are critical breeding habitat? Which wetlands support migratory species? Where are the corridors that connect fragmented habitats?

Through the collective effort of citizen scientists, community groups, and professional researchers, NativeAtlas turns individual observations into knowledge that shapes a sustainable future for the world's natural heritage.

How to Contribute

1. Create an account and link yourself as an observer (Atlasser)
2. Join an organisation to connect with a community in your region
3. Record your sightings using the Submit page — manually, from photos, or by uploading DES2 data files
4. Explore the data on the interactive map, browse species cards, and build charts to see patterns
5. Share your findings with your organisation and the wider community