The adorable, cheeky Kea is one of the most intelligent birds in the world, but it is also endangered. It has an estimated population of only a few thousand, but just how many are there, and where?
The Kea Conservation Trust, supported by DoC, already had a successful "Kea Survey Tool" website which allows members of the public to perform population surveys and upload their results. They wanted to take the next step with an app to allow people on tramps, with only their phones, to take surveys in real time, without an internet connection (Keas don't like places with an internet connection, they find tiktok too distracting).
Observations could be recorded in the bush, using GPS location data. This survey data could be synced up later, once a connection was available.
Xequals had already built something similar for DoC, creating an asynchronous survey app for fisheries data, so we reconnected for this project. The app needed to use the same API as the existing website, but aside from that there was room for a full UX review of the survey to optimise them for people on a bush walk, including opt-in hourly reminders.
A react native client was then created based on these designs. The project went smoothly and within budget, and has been well received by the public.
"Xequals have been fantastic to work with. From briefing to design, coding and launch, everything felt effortless. We’re excited to be able to gather more data on kea in the wild, and we’re looking forward to developing the app further."
Annika Werner, The Kea Conservation Trust
Read more about it here www.keaconservation.co.nz/projects/kea-survey-app
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