Biodiversity and the Environment
Digital Field Guides
Digital field guides can make nature observation more engaging, accessible, and educational—especially for students and teachers, travellers, residents and local community members. Digital field guides are becoming helpful tools for Citizen Science and Education & Experiential Learning programmes and Conservation projects, bridging everyday observations with scientific data collection to support long-term scientific research programmes.
What Digital Field Guides Do
- Species Identification: Help us identify birds, trees, bees, butterflies, spiders, etc., using photos.
- Education and Awareness: Teach people about local species and ecosystems.
- Conservation Action: Provide data for scientific studies, species monitoring and habitat conservation, biodiversity database and long-term climate impact studies.
How They Support Conservation Projects
- Biodiversity Observation and Mapping – Tracking species distribution, recording sightings and abundance.
- Community Engagement – Educating and supporting local people to become ‘citizen scientists.’
- Education Programmes – Using field guides in schools and colleges to link curriculum with real-world ecosystems.
- Early Warning Systems – Spotting invasive species or unusual ecological changes.
- Input to Management Plans – Providing data to support conservation efforts
- Climate Change Monitoring – Observing shifts in species ranges, flowering, or migration timing.
Opportunities for Your Projects
- Be integrated into school and college programmes (students document local biodiversity).
- Support scientific research programmes, working with scientists
- CSR projects on biodiversity databases and eco-volunteering.
- Link to climate resilience projects (e.g., monitoring changes in flowering pattern, bird migration, lakes, wetlands, and green spaces)
- Build community nature watch groups (Bird Find, Tree Watch, Bee & Butterfly, Odonata, etc.)
Birdlife in India is truly amazing. There are
approximately 1300 species of birds in India.
Birds play an important role in the Web of life.
Winged messenger of subtle changes in our
environment, birds are well known as unique
indicators of changes in the environment at their
place of origin, path of travel and destination.
The vegetation, water bodies and landscapes
they depend on and co-inhabitants of ecosystems
are allied indicators of the highly specific
environments they are associated with.
Bird Find is to facilitate easy indentification of
some of the birds in the field using digital field
guide
India has large diversity of tree species
Tree Watch is an initiative to facilitate easy
identification of some of the trees in the field using
digital field guide.
Trees & Flowering Cycles - Relate to seasons and
unique settings of time, place, biotic and abiotic
factors. The diversity of trees varies depending on
altitudes. Locally prevalent temperature, moisture
and light conditions determine growth and
development cycles of trees. These patterns are
useful signals of changes in the local environment.
Spiders are ubiquitous eight-legged arachnids found all around, yet not much is known about them. This digital field guide showcases 50 common species of spiders found in our homes, gardens, and forests, to understand their intrinsic value to the natural ecosystem. This field guide is for anyone who wants to be initiated in knowing the world of spiders.
Butterflies and Bees play an important role in the
Web of Life. Many butterflies are closely linked to
specific plants and habitats.
Bees are important pollinators, and many
flowering plants depend on them.
This digital field guide is an initiative to facilitate
easy identification of some of the butterflies and
bees.
Many plants need seeds to grow into new plants.
The process that leads to creation of new seeds is
called Pollination.
Scientists engaged in plant propagation are keen
to understand these processes and conditions
that optimize their roles. Citizens’ observations
on occurrence and distribution of these active
ecosystem members help enrich understanding of
these aspects.
This digital field guide will help increase
awareness and understanding about butterflies
and bees and generate greater interest regarding
pollinators and their habitat
Disclaimer: These e-learning resources are only for the purpose of education and awareness. Though, every effort has been made to make these resources as accurate as possible, the information compiled from various sources should serve only as a general reference and not as the ultimate source of subject information. It should not be considered as a definitive or exhaustive source on the subject. Earthwatch Institute India and supporting agencies of this initiative shall have no liability or responsibility to any person or entity regarding any loss or damage incurred, or alleged to have incurred, directly or indirectly, as a result of the information presented in these resources.