Collection protocols
How to collect, for the way your group works.
Every kit ships with the protocol for your survey. Sample counts, station layout and paperwork differ by group, so each one has its own set of instructions and its own field data sheet.
Nature preserve protocol
Built for land trusts and stewardship staff surveying several habitat units across a property. Samples are spread across management compartments so each result speaks to a place you actually manage.
Typical sample count
5–15 per property
Groups per sample
1–3 taxonomic groups
Sample media
Soil cores, vernal pool and wetland water
Best season
Spring green-up and late summer
In the field
- 01
Map your compartments
Divide the preserve into the habitat units you manage separately — fen, vernal pool, riparian edge, upland forest. Plan one sample per unit, and two in any unit larger than roughly 40 acres.
- 02
Work clean, unit by unit
Fresh gloves and a fresh single-use scoop or syringe for every station. Never carry tools between compartments.
- 03
Collect the sample
For soil, take five small surface cores within a 10-metre circle and combine them in the supplied tube. For standing water, draw from just below the surface without stirring the bottom.
- 04
Stabilise and label
Add the preservation buffer, invert ten times, and write the station ID on the tube in pencil or permanent marker.
- 05
Record the station
Fill in the preserve data sheet while you are still standing at the site — GPS, habitat type, canopy, recent management.
- 06
Return the batch
Ship the whole property batch together in the prepaid mailer so all stations are processed in one run and are directly comparable.
Keeping results clean
- One field blank (sterile water tube opened and closed on site) per property batch.
- Sample upwind and upstream of parking areas, trails and equipment.
- Note any burn, mow, herbicide or hydrology work in the past 12 months.
- Repeat the same stations each year to build a real trend line.
- Place at least one station at each trailhead or boundary for invasive species early detection.
Data sheet preview
Preserve station data sheet
- Preserve name
- Cedar Hollow Preserve
- Station / compartment ID
- CHP-04 (north fen)
- Date & time
- 2026-05-14, 09:20
- GPS coordinates
- 44.2318 N, -85.4471 W
- Habitat type
- Prairie fen
- Sample media
- Surface water
- Canopy cover
- 15%
- Substrate
- Organic muck over marl
- Tube / barcode
- EC-118422
- Collector
- J. Moreau
Before you leave the station
- Fresh gloves and single-use scoop used
- Preservation buffer added and inverted
- Field blank collected for this batch
- Recent management noted
- Invasive species watch list noted
A printed copy of this sheet is included with every kit, with one page per sample.
Solo explorers
Your protocol comes with your kit design.
A solo survey depends entirely on what you are looking for. Backyard birds, a creek full of fish, pollinators in a garden and a search for one elusive species all call for different sampling. Rather than a single general protocol, we write yours as you build the kit — matched to your species, your habitat and the number of samples you choose. It arrives printed in the box with a data sheet for each sample.
Design your kit