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What known issues does the app have?
The app will occasionally crash if you rapidly hit multiple records. We are working on identifying the problem.
Some Heritage place details pages need better formatting. The font is too big and not scalable. And you can't scroll sideways to read the text. We are working on fixing this problem.
Occasionally, the app will not complete a search. This appears to happen after the app has been run but has been idle for some time. It may also be due to poor 3G mobile or poor GPS satellite reception. The work around is to do another map search. We are working on identifying the problem.
Is MyEnvironment available for Android phones?
MyEnvironment is not available for use on Android phones. If you have an Android phone you can access the similar data in the databases and maps section of this website. We are currently considering making a MyEnvironment Android app but this is likely to be some time away.
What is the design concept?
MyEnvironment is intended to be a rapid, simple iPhone/iPad/iPod application. It uses the built in assisted GPS function to locate the user and report listings and details of environmental assets in the area of interest. It is not intended to replace or be a substitute for the EPBC Act Protected Matters Search Tool.
How does the search work?
The data are pre-intersected with a ~62,000 cell grid representing Australia and the EEZ. Each grid cell is either 8x8 km or 32x32 km in rural and regional areas.
On start up the app sends an 8x8 km bounding box request to our web service. The user's location is the centre of the red bounding box.
Why are there 'No details' for many Protected Areas?
Most of the records in the protected areas dataset (CAPAD) are managed by State and Territory governments. The detailed information is held on their web sites and databases. We decided not to link to State/Territory protected areas web sites because of the potential for broken links and the maintenance overhead.
What are Protected species?
Protected species is a generic term used to cover threatened, endangered, vulnerable, listed marine and listed migratory species.
I know a species occurs near here but the app doesn't report it?
Species distributions are based on the best available data.
The distributions of threatened species in the SPRaT database are derived from known observations, literature reviews and climatic envelope modelling. The species are said to be ‘Known to occur', ‘Likely to occur' or ‘May occur'. In v1.0 of the app we have used the Known and Likely cases resulting in a reduced but appropriate range of species results.
Also, due to the gridded search box methodology, the user's location may range from 8-64 Km away from the grid cell containing the species record.
Can the app show the location of places back on the Google mobile Map?
Yes, this is for consideration in version 2.
Why don't I see records for islands like Christmas, Cocos, Heard, McDonald or Norfolk Islands?
For version 1 it was simpler to restrict the search to the Australian continent and nearby islands. Antarctic and external territories and islands will be added in the near future.
Why aren't there more photos?
There are a lot of protected species. We are identifying and linking to more and more species photographs. If you have good quality photos and you are willing to allow us to use them please contact us at myenvironment@environment.gov.au. We acknowledge all photo authors.
