Over 50 delegates from the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA) conference now have a better understanding of the data and tools provided by the Atlas of Living Australia thanks to a ½ day workshop run by Lee Belbin at last week’s ESA conference in Alice Springs. The workshop aimed to familiarize delegates with the key tools, data and access options available through the Atlas, with particular focus on the Spatial Portal. Topics covered included:

Rocky landscape near Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
Alice Springs provided a magnificent backdrop for the ESA conference.
  • An outline of Atlas data, including species, areas, layers and facets
  • The research interface (i.e. Spatial Portal)
  • The tools of the Atlas and how to use them
  • Importing and exporting data and results (including ALA4R library)
  • Other Atlas resources: case studies, tutorials, blog, web services, FAQs etc.

The workshop also provided an ideal opportunity to identify and discuss gaps in the Atlas, and for the Atlas team to gain useful feedback from the research community.

The popularity of the optional workshop was very encouraging for the Atlas team, as it showed the keen interest in the site by the ecological research community. Anyone interested in learning how to use the advanced features of the Atlas Spatial Portal is very welcome to contact us.