Trails to help biodiversity

Drawing up trail design, biodiversity and planning thoughts by Frits Ahlefeldt – See all hiking illustrations here

Using hiking trails to help monitor biodiversity and stop invasive species

Text and concept sketch by Frits Ahlefeldt. Hiking.org

Invasive species is becoming a huge problem all over the world, but hiking can actually help us face this threat in new and better ways

Hiking trails often go through areas where nature needs to be protected from invasive, non local species.

And here hikers using smartphones can help monitor and report the state and conditions of the local places and biodiversity.

Citizen science and hiking

There is a global growing trend called citizen science. It is all about letting everybody take part in research, monitoring and caring for the environment and help create innovate new solutions and understanding.

New technology have made this much easier as we can now use GPS supported smartphone apps and social media to share and discuss the challenges we come across out in the landscapes.

Hikers can both learn a lot about the local landscapes and also play important roles in securing and building knowledge about local nature and trails when they take part in networks and research about what they see and meet out along the trails…

Hiking to help science and biodiversity

Awareness of the challenges to biodiversity is becoming more and more important as still larger areas are used for human activities. By combining walking with collecting and sharing information about what we experience along the trails can help raise new awareness about what we need to do and even help focus and secure knowledge for a global network of citizen scientists – and experts alike.

Pokemon go for biodiversity

It might even be an idea to experiment with making hiking trails designed to help monitor and protect biodiversity rich areas – Making it possible for people to connect to what they need to help protect, by walking, monitoring and taking digital notes about the places at the same time.

Maybe a bit like pokemon go – just much better and more usable.

The drawing is part of my research to understand, why and how to design, build and maintain hiking trails

Keywords: citizen science, biodiversity, citizenscience, volunteer, co-creation

Hiker looking at trail damage by invasive species along trail ( japanese knotweed) Hiking Illustration by Frits Ahlefeldt — Trails can be challenged by sprouting weeds and hikers can help both monitor, repair and share knowledge when an area face invasive species – like here. ( Japanese Knotweed drawn here is considered an invasive species outside its native Asian range )

See all trail design drawings here

Keywords: invasive species, habitats, biodiversity, trails, hiking, design, landscapesofunderstanding, traildesign, biodiversity, endangered species, habitat loss.