FAQs

About the Campus Biodiversity Register

What is the Campus Biodiversity Register?

It is a national initiative through which college students and faculty across India are encouraged to document the plants, animals, birds, insects, and other organisms found within their campus using citizen science platforms.

What counts as a "campus"?

A campus is the land and buildings that belong to your college, university, or educational institution. This may include academic buildings, hostels, gardens, sports grounds, lakes, plantations, open spaces, and other areas that are part of the institution's premises. Observations submitted to the Campus Biodiversity Register should be made within the campus boundaries.

Our college does not have a campus. It is a stand-alone building. Can we still register and participate?

Yes, certainly. Even stand-alone buildings support a surprising diversity of life. You may find insects in classrooms and corridors, spiders in corners, birds flying overhead, plants growing in small green spaces, and many other organisms sharing your surroundings. Biodiversity can be found in the most unexpected places. Explore your building and its immediate surroundings, and you may discover far more species than you imagined.

Which platforms are used to record observations?

Participants upload observations to iNaturalist, eBird, and SeasonWatch, depending on what they are documenting.

What are iNaturalist, eBird, and SeasonWatch? Which platform should I use?

The Campus Biodiversity Register uses three citizen science platforms:

iNaturalist – Used to record plants, insects, fungi, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and most other living organisms. Simply upload a photograph, and the app will suggest possible identifications. Ideal for beginners.
eBird – Designed specifically for recording birds. Participants can submit bird checklists and contribute to one of the world's largest bird monitoring databases. Ideal for someone who can identify birds.
SeasonWatch – Focuses on common trees in India. Participants record information on chosen trees (flowering, fruiting, leafing) at least 26 times a year. This will help you understand how trees on your campus respond to changing seasons and climate.

You may use one or all of these platforms depending on the species you are observing. Training and guidance will be provided for each platform.

Do we need to use all the platforms to document biodiversity on our campus?

Use of iNaturalist is mandatory since it is a platform through which we can document ALL life forms. Use of eBird and SeasonWatch depends on your interests and expertise. Please use eBird if you are familiar with identifying birds and SeasonWatch to track seasonal changes in trees on your campus.

How much time do students and faculty need to dedicate to the project?

Participation is flexible and can be adapted to the interests and schedules of your institution. Observations may be made opportunistically whenever someone encounters an interesting species on campus, or through organised activities such as nature walks, biodiversity surveys and competitions. In general, the more observations a campus contributes, the more comprehensive its biodiversity record will be. We encourage institutions to document biodiversity regularly throughout the year and participate in national and global biodiversity documentation events.

We are a school. Can we participate?

This year, the Campus Biodiversity Register is open only to colleges, universities, and other higher education institutions. Since participants are expected to use mobile phones and online platforms to document biodiversity, and children below 18 years of age should use these tools under appropriate guidance, we have chosen to focus on higher education institutions for the first year of the programme. We encourage schools to continue engaging with biodiversity through initiatives such as SeasonWatch and hope to explore opportunities for school participation in the future.

We are a community campus and regularly participate in Campus Bird Count. Can we participate?

No, unfortunately, this year the Campus Biodiversity Register Project is currently limited to educational institutions. We encourage your community campus to continue documenting biodiversity through citizen science platforms. We hope to explore ways of involving community campuses in the future.

We share a campus with another institution. Can both institutions register separately?

If multiple institutions share the same campus, we will typically create a single project for the shared campus. Observations from all participating institutions will contribute to the same biodiversity dataset, and the institutions may work together to create a shared Campus Biodiversity Register. Please contact us at natureoncampus@ncf-india.org for guidance on setting up your project.

For Participants

Who can participate?: The initiative is primarily aimed at students, faculty, and staff of colleges and universities across India. However, anyone is welcome to contribute observations. Please note that for an observation to be included in the Campus Biodiversity Register, it must be recorded within the premises of a participating/registered educational institution.
Do I need any prior experience in biodiversity or species identification?: No. The programme is open to complete beginners. Training sessions for all participating students and faculty members will be held to help get started with observation and identification. Beginners can start documenting observations through iNaturalist. The iNaturalist app suggests identification for what you have documented and it is then verified by experts. iNaturalist is easy and intuitive once you start using it. You can use SeasonWatch to document how trees are changing around you. If you know your birds, we highly recommend using eBird.
What will my institution gain from participating?: By the end of the project, participating institutions will have documented the biodiversity found on their campuses and built a valuable dataset of species records. This information can be used to create a Campus Biodiversity Register and support future biodiversity-related activities, research, and awareness on campus. By participating, you'll contribute valuable data to global open-source biodiversity databases and help build a lasting Campus Biodiversity Register for Annual Reports and NAAC. This effort brings together students, faculty, and nature clubs in a shared mission, while connecting your college to a national network of institutions documenting campus biodiversity.

For Institutions

How do we register our campus?: You can sign up through the registration form. Once registered, your campus will be part of the national network for the year. We will get in touch with you very soon.
Is there a fee to participate?: There is no fee. Participation is free for all institutions.
Can multiple teams or departments within a campus participate?: Yes. Multiple groups within the same campus can all contribute observations on various platforms, and they will all count towards the campus's collective record.
Will participating institutions receive any support?: Yes. Registered institutions will have access to year-round online training sessions, documentation guides, and support from the project team. Colleges actively documenting biodiversity will also receive a resource kit to support biodiversity observation and documentation on campus from us.