We’re excited to report the completion of our Boring Fund Project: BEHIND THE SCENES: UPGRADING SOFTWARE PACKAGES IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTUS WILDLIFE TRACKING SYSTEM AND NATURECOUNTS 
 
Data is key to conserving biodiversity, and Birds Canada’s NatureCounts and Motus platforms manage a lot of it! With over 10 billion records of birds and other taxa between them, they support research and conservation decision-making at local, national, and international scales.  

NatureCountsn (naturecounts.ca) is a technology program that supports the collection, management, interpretation, and sharing of biodiversity data. It currently houses over 380 million records, and furnishes over 5000 data requests annually from the conservation community. Motus (motus.org) is an international community using miniature transmitters and a network of detection stations to track the movements of small flying animals. As one of the largest global collaborative research networks, Motus comprises over 2,200 stations in 34 countries. These platforms have contributed to over 4,500 peer-reviewed publications. 

These platforms have been operating since 2008 and 2013 respectively and needed critical software package upgrades. That’s where The Boring Fund comes in! Maintenance and upgrades are essential to the functionality and security of these programs, but they are uncharismatic and difficult to fund. As software becomes outdated and unsupported, we risk data loss, interruptions, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. We also miss out on modern features, improved efficiencies, and opportunities for new and exciting development. 

Support from The Boring Fund and Arm has enabled crucial behind-the-scenes work to safeguard the integrity and continuity of these two globally important platforms. We have installed and configured updated software packages, cleaned and removed dead code, and performed the meticulous compatibility testing, dependency updates, and process documentation across all sites that rely on Birds Canada’s data and web servers. 

Together, Motus and NatureCounts directly support over 1000 conservation projects and 30,000 registered users. The data they generate and maintain further supports countless research and conservation initiatives. These platforms are essential to the conservation of birds and other taxa in Canada and beyond, and with support from The Boring Fund and Arm, they are now equipped to grow and thrive long into the future.  
 
Thank you to Arm and Wildlabs for your support of this work!  
 
All the best,  
 
The Birds Canada Data Science and Technology Team 

@dlepage @kylejhorner @jeffcullis