Croft Biodiversity Project
Report Your Nature Observations
Please report your nature observations on our survey form or by email (attaching a photo if you can) but, before you do that, see below how to record the location of your observations.
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1. Most Accurate Way:
location coordinates from Google Map (satellite image)
You can zoom in and left click and then right-click (cmd-click on a Mac) on the site of your observation on the image which appears when this link is followed (you can also click on the image to get there), and then copy the coordinates which appear.
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To copy the coordinates, click on the numbers at the top of the list of options which appear when you have right-clicked (cmd-clicked on a Mac) and then the precise location will have been copied by your device. You can then paste the coordinates into our form (or your data-recording document or spreadsheet).
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How to Record Locations of Observations
2. Next Best Way:
find grid references from this image
Use the gridded image to get coordinates for your observation.
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For example, an observation in the middle of the fourth column from the left and a quarter of the way up in the third row from the bottom would have the location coordinates X4.5; Y3.25, which you can type into the survey form. Always start with the X value.
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3. Alternatively, just do your best: 'I spotted this fungus on a log under the trees at the eastern edge of the Croft.'
Leith Community Croft is divided into several areas. For example, there's the Crofters' area, which consists of many small plots along much of the west of it, the market garden area in the south-western corner, the orchard area in the south, the treed area along much of the eastern border, and the hardstanding down the middle of it.​
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Where did you make your observation with respect to these areas, or with regard to obvious landmarks such as the building, the compost bins and the entrances?
Just give it a go!
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