Access data

Access to SEDN data

We want our data to be used: that is why we collect it. You do not have to pay for it. Ecological consultants are welcome to use the data, as are researchers, conservationists, planners and citizens groups. Our only restrictions are:

  • do not pass on the raw data - refer people to us instead
  • do not trespass on private land to see a species listed in our database
  • Please acknowledge the source of the records (both SEDN and the recorder/recording group). Treat the data as intellectual property and quote it in the usual way

The database is stored in a Dropbox folder. Follow the link below to get there:


Understanding the data

The Dropbox folder contains three spreadsheets in Excel format.

  • SEDN Animals contains records of mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, fungi, etc.
  • SEDN birds contains distribution data on birds in the county
  • SEDN Plants contains all our data on plant species, from algae to flowering plants

You need a few skills to be able to sort the data and filter it; pivot tables may also be useful to you. You can find tutorials on these subjects online.

We suggest that you use the spreadsheets like this: find the site you want data on and write down the 1km squares it covers (you can find these on any OS map). Then sort our spreadsheet by the "monad" column and extract the data for those monads. Then filter your extracted data by the axion or axiophyte column to select just the rare and interesting species. This will give you a list of the more important species recorded in your area. The site name and comments will give you additional information.

You may notice that there are no detailed grid references in the spreadsheet. This is because the 1km square is enough for most purposes. If you need more detailed locations, please get in touch .

>> Many of our reports are available on the map of site-based reports

>>

>> Or you can contact us or the Tsars to ask questions. Very few people can make any sense of a list of scientific names, so we are happy to provide interpretation if that helps.