Follow the forum topic to receive notifications of updates to the survey and toolbox! Updates are noted within the forum topic.

Further information regarding:

• Recorded session introducing the Biodiversity Observation Data Standard and Observations survey can be viewed here.
• Additional information regarding the Biodiversity Observation Data Standard
• The spreadsheet containing all fields within the Biodiversity Observation Data Standard
• Previously held webinars and the accompanying presentations:
  • Creating EOs from Observations (Survey123) using the Observations Toolbox
  • Introduction to the Observations Lifecycle                        
  • Recent updates to the Observations Lifecycle           
  • Customizing the Observations survey            
  • Auto-generate specimen labels via the Observations survey            

Download the Observations.zip file (updated 10/09/2023) which contains everything, including documentation. If you have prior versions of the survey and would like to incorporate auto-generation of specimen labels, see this solution for further details.

NatureServe can now clone the (Observation, QC, and paged version) surveys and related materials (dashboards, map, app) from the NatureServe AGOL Organization to yours. See this solution for details. This saves tons of time and allows you to hit the ground running - collecting data in the field the same day!

For details on updates to the Observations.zip file, see this forum topic, which requires logging into the Help Desk. You can follow the forum topic to receive emails whenever it is updated.

Download an empty zipped Observations_v14 geodatabase, should you wish to import data from other sources into the  geodatabase for use with the Observations toolbox, in order to Bulk  Create, Bulk Replace, Add Visits of SFs/EOs in Biotics. This can be done  using Append (ArcGIS Pro) (aka Esri's Simple Data Loader in ArcMap). 

Please submit a ticket via the Help Desk or by emailing biotics@natureserve.org with any questions or problems you have regarding the Observations survey or toolbox.

NOTE: Should you wish to try out the Observations survey prior to committing, you can take a photo of the following QR code from your desired device (smartphone, tablet, laptop) or use this link. Both will prompt you to install the Survey123 app and then open the Observations survey automatically.

For instructions to share with anyone who will be collecting data via Survey123, see the Collect Data via Survey123 solution which includes a document limited to Installation of Survey123, downloading a survey, and collecting data.

Troubleshooting

If when running the Bulk Load Prep Toolbox, you receive the following error: "TypeError: A float is required." :

1. Right-click on the toolbox and choose Edit.
2. Search for arcpy.Buffer_analysis(sf_in,sf_out,1) and change it to arcpy.Buffer_analysis(sf_in,sf_out,float(1))