Introduction to Taxus Ecology
Taxus Ecology is a UK based ecological consultancy that works with a variety of organisations across many ecological disciplines including; protected species surveys, ecological impact assessments, habitat surveys and bat surveys.
Formed by Hannah Haggon and David White in 2020, the team at Taxus Ecology has already worked on some major UK and international projects including NEOM, a development in Saudi Arabia.
Hannah and David have recently returned from Saudi Arabia, where they’ve been collecting baseline data for an up and coming conservation project. Now back in the UK they are once again supporting UK-based clients with their ecological surveys.
The challenge
Collecting accurate data is an integral part of the work that Taxus undertakes. And working internationally meant that they needed a streamlined, reliable and simple system to enable them to collect a diverse array of data across various locations.
Like many ecological consultancies, Taxus was using pen and paper before Coreo. In order to ensure they didn’t lose this data, they took a photo of what they could and recorded locations separately using Google Maps.
These disparate systems created more work for Hannah and David, who constantly had to cross reference between devices and spreadsheets, and they had the ever present worry of having to repeat surveys if data was lost or illegible – not ideal if you’d just returned from Saudi.
“Although using pen and paper worked in theory, it was extremely time consuming and we always had the worry of losing the data in the back of our minds. We even suffered the frustratingly common issue of not being able to read our own handwriting!“
The Solution
Hannah and David recognised there was a need for them to streamline their data collection, not only to save time but also prevent possible loss of data. Having previously used software in other roles, they realised that switching their entire survey process to a digital platform would provide them with significant benefits.
After speaking with the Coreo team at a CIEEM event last Autumn, David and Hannah decided to take the plunge and they integrated Coreo into their business.
Since setting up Coreo, the team have been using it both in the UK and in Saudi Arabia, mainly for bat and tree climbing surveys. And they have already seen an improvement in their data and the way they are able to work.
As well as developing and completing full bat surveys using the app, the team at Taxus has also used it to mark points of interest such as specific mammal sites they see whilst out undertaking other surveys. This then means they are able to record the exact location of these areas, along with photos and notes whilst completing their regular surveys.
“The simplicity of Coreo has meant that we are able to get to grips with using the platform straight away. However, when we did have queries, the Coreo team were always on hand to provide us with swift and helpful support.”
The Results
Since using Coreo, Taxus have seen improvements across all their data management.
Benefits have included;
- Streamlined data
- Countless hours saved transcribing data
- Improved data quality
- Reduction in missing data
“Using Coreo has had a genuine, positive impact on the way we work. When using pen and paper, we would spend at minimum a week after a survey transcribing the data into a usable format, but with Coreo that task is removed and the data is already in the system ready for us to get straight to the analysis stage.
“As well as time savings, we’ve seen an improvement in data quality, as we can add photos and notes to specific records with just the click of a button. The ability to add mandatory fields has also meant that we’ve drastically reduced the amount of missing data – a simple thing, but it’s proved very important.“
Moving forwards, the team at Taxus plans to digitise all their surveys using Coreo and trial the UKHab Survey App.