Skip to content
Donate

Action 4: Monitor

Observe and monitor the impacts of your project.

The next step is to find out how your project is benefitting the animals, plants and people in your community. In monitoring new habitats for example, noting changes such as the mix and diversity of animal and plant species present (species composition and richness) or the number of each counted (species abundance) will really help to assess the difference your project has made.

The two main elements to monitoring the impacts of your project is via observing changes through regular surveys and keeping records of these changes and observations so that you have something to compare against. You might like to use this template to conduct your surveys.

View the image gallery below to see some examples of surveying methods.

Activities - Monitor

1. Choose a survey methodline drawing of a magnifying glass

Wildlife surveys provide a snapshot of what an ecosystem looks like at a point in time. Running multiple surveys at different times of day, in different conditions, over different seasons, and years, allows for real comparisons. Choose a survey method from the list on this activity sheet. The method choosen will depend on the size of your area, your available time, the number and ages of participants, and the type of animal you are aiming to survey. 
 

2. Keeping records

Read this detailed document to ensure all your data is recorded efficiently. How do you plan to record your data?