• Improve survey completeness and currency.

• Advance data quality and scientific approach.

• Improve availability and utility of survey methods and tools.

• Better align and standardise survey methods and approaches.

• Engaging and motivating more people to participate.

• Adapt language and co-develop approaches with communities.

• Provide differentiated opportunities and training.

• Improve circular feedback, training, and development pathways.

• Advance participant diversity through better engagement of underrepresented groups and minorities.

• Expand and diversify participation to be more representative of the population.

• Build and broaden the case for investment in participatory studies of ecosystems and natural capital

• Advance the servicing of voluntary participation (the nature and aim of sponsorship and enabling services) that   benefits from coordination with contracted survey services and deployment across the region.

• Improve cooperation and collaboration between organisations that sponsor or enable voluntary participation in studies of ecosystems and natural capital

This is an accessible form of surveying as it's easy to teach, can be done by families and from safe footpaths along rivers. It's also a winter activity so helps provide year-round activities and nature engagement.

AWT is currently hold the local beaver records and is keen to be involved with an expanded beaver project being developed.

Projects where sampling effort per volunteer is very low are probably the most accessible, but you potentially trade-off data quality. Increasing the diversity of participants (aiming to include demographics whose time is limited/there are greater social/economic barriers to participation) may have to involve greater incentives. These could include discounts at certain shops, CPD credits, prizes etc.

Biodiversity data is generated at great expense, but (excluding some datasets on GBIF/NBN) much is inaccessible through record centres that charge a fee. Verification via an academic email address etc. is straightforward. Access for commercial interests can require a fee. Although government-funded, the CEDA archive for climate data is something that we could replicate with biodiversity data.

For the data to be taken seriously and used by decision makers it needs to be viewed as valid and robust so efforts need to go into ensuring that anything collected is reliable. There is nothing worse than spending hours collecting data only for it not to be used for something meaningful.

• More sightings for scientific uses

• Get more participants involved so they obtain the benefits

• Target sightings to specific species that are in decline so these contribute to data

• Diversify participants