Thank you

This is very sad news and a big blow to the NatureMapr community. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with the NatureMapr team. NatureMapr has been a positive part of many lives and made contributors and moderators alike feel like we were making a difference. It will leave a big hole when, or if, it closes down. Thank you Aaron and the team for everything. I still have hope that ongoing funding can be found to enable NatureMapr to continue.

I totally agree, kasiaaus, a huge blow to our beautiful NatureMapr community. Thank you Aaron and team NatureMapr, for your ongoing support of the community. The NatureMapr platform has created a need for all citizen scientists to help secure, protect, discover and enjoy all creatures large and small, and all flora so stunningly beautiful. We thank you NatureMapr for the opportunity to have been involved in something so amazing. It will be missed by us all. We understand this decision would not have been easy.

Thank you to everyone involved, especially Aaron Clausen for making it all possible. Special mentions for me are the two Michaels: Mulvaney and Bedingfield. So much work by them behind the scenes as well as heaps of contributions and lots of moderating. I'd also like to give a shout out to these epic moderators: Tapirlord, Liam.m, donhe, natureguy, ibaird and the late Don Wood. Thanks for sharing your expertise for free. Plus I'd like to give a mention to these contributors who submitted so many sightings: AlisonMilton, trevorpreston, Hejor1, Mike, RodDeb, kasiaaus, ConBoekel, KylieWaldon, jb2602, TimL, LisaH, HelenCross, JaneR, CathB, SteveBorkowskis, JohnBundock, Darcy, Harrisi, Christine, WendyEM, NedJohnston, lbradley and Csteele4. There is well over 100,000 sightings combined there, think of all the hours in the field.

It has been a huge enhancement to my quality of life over the past eight years to belong to a like-minded community of environmentalists, making a real difference in Australia by documenting our biodiversity, and in that way, trying to conserve it. I've learnt a lot just by contributing my sightings and then later on becoming a moderator, so thank you NatureMapr for that opportunity.

Just like kasiaaus, I hold out hope .☘︎ ݁˖ that a saviour will come along between now and 2029/2030 to keep this citizen science platform going well beyond that time, however unlikely that may be.

Thank you, Aaron, and the NatureMapr team. Your initial vision, your enthusiasm and your commitment despite all of the challenges, have provided a truly unique platform, a wonderful journey and a rewarding experience for those involved. Your legacy will be a priceless and very valuable contribution to citizen science and to human knowledge of the natural world. Thanks for providing the opportunity to be part of it. Tim and Barbara.

Thank you Aaron and team. I second everything said above, particularly @MathewFrawley and his special mentions - the two Michael's, the moderators etc. I sincerely appreciate Matthew's careful and professional attention to the NM Facebook page, and Alison Milton's informative and enjoyable quarterly newsletters. Personally, I'm gutted to hear the news. NatureMapr was literally life-changing for me, opening my eyes to what I was surrounded by when I'd been blithely wandering through the bush.

Yes, thank you so much to Aaron and all of the NatureMapr community for this amazing platform, and well said to the previous commenters. It is with a heavy heart that I write this, as like for LisaH, this has been life-changing for me, and I am so sad to hear this news. I have thought many times of late, that I see people getting accolades and making lots of money from their innovations, yet Aarons amazing NatureMapr has struggled financially, and that is not fair, and only shows a lack of care for and appreciation of our natural world by most of our population. Not only has this platform lead to the discovery of new and amazing species and rediscovery of "thought extinct" species, but has enabled the discovery and location of "nasties" or struggling individuals which have then been able to be dealt with or helped.
Aaron, you should be so proud of what you achieved!

I am very sad that it has come to this, because I have loved being part of the NatureMapr community. Aaron and the team have run a fabulous platform really well, and the dedication and enthusiasm of the moderators and many contributors has been really inspiring. While only coming on board a couple of years ago, I have found real satisfaction in contributing and have developed an interest in many species I never noticed before. It's been a wonderful way to get to know the flora and fauna of my part of the world better. So thank you Aaron and team, and thank you moderators. Hopefully the ALA will have access to all the data collected over hundreds of hours from a wonderful community.

I agree with everything VanessaC said.

Nothing to add to the other comments. I can understand why, but very sad to see NatureMapr go. Thank you everybody who has contributed to it.

Truly sorry to hear this news after the dedicated effort that Aaron and team have put in - especially the ramped up efforts over the last couple of years - to try and make the software and architecture more efficient, seeking partnerships and funding, comms to the community, and all the things we don’t see. Thank you for what you have done. Like others I’ve learnt more about the world around me, and felt like I’ve been part of a community, and contributed to scientific knowledge - because of NatureMapr.

I am very sorry to hear this. Thank you - NatureMapr is an amazing resource and everyone connected is helpful and knowledgable. Bless you all!

Thank you, Aaron, and all at NatureMapr, for providing this incredible platform. It's given me great joy over the years and made wandering through the bush more meaningful. It's an exceptionally user-friendly platform, and the extraordinary generosity of the moderators in providing prompt and highly expert identifications has provided me with much enjoyment in discovering the natural world around me. Thank you all - it's like losing a friend.

A great (though sadly understandable) disappointment to all, I'm sure, especially to Aaron and the other founders and all those who have put so much effort into making it such a valuable and special platform. As well as providing a valuable resource I'm sure it has encouraged many others like me to take more interest in and value the biodiversity that surrounds us and the thrill that comes from identifying species especially when it is one not often reported. The unique expert moderation made it such a great way to learn to identify species (although I'm sure this must test the patience of the dedicated moderators at times). Let's not let it fade away but remain vibrant to the end.

Second bite of the cherry, because I'm grieving. I've met amazing people who are the community around NatureMapr. I've attended some of the gatherings, and been lucky enough to have people come out to our place to look around, identify orchids, trees, insects, birds - all as a result of NatureMapr. I became more interested in photography and recording the wonders I was now noticing. People shared their skills in photography (Thank you, @TimL - such a resource). I've been fortunate to have some photos picked up by external organisations, to promote benefits for nature. I loved the ability to write little stories about what I was observing - so many environmental dramas happened in our environment, once I opened my eyes and spent time looking. And no-one in the NM community (including our scientist moderators) replied negatively, or asked me to stop my (deliberately) unscientific oberservations - something I sincerely appreciated.

I'm wondering if NatureMapre can be saved? I saw the link to become a member, which I determined to do (it was always one of those things I meant to do . . .). Imagine if all users became members of NatureMapre! However, I now can't find how to join NatureMapr. Is there anything further that we, the users, can do?

Thanks Aaron for the inspiration you have given us all to enjoy this wonderful site and go out and see things we may not have known even existed. It is so sad to hear that it will no longer be around in the future. We will truly miss seeing the wonderful pics and discoveries of all the contributors. Thank you to Michael Mulvaney, Michael Bedingfield, Alison Milton and all the other hard working moderators. Totally agree with all the comments above and like others also hope that someone will come along to help save this most important site. Our best wishes and thanks to you all from Deb and Rod.

Thank you Aaron, Lewis and team. Sorry this is the end of NaturMpr.
Its has been an awesome experience working with your platform

Many thanks to all the experts who have help me with various ID’s. In particular I wish to thank Ian, Don and Wendy who have put up with me and several disputes over some difficult lepidoptera ID’s. It has been a pleasure to have these experts to converse with and will be sourly missed.

Oh Dear! This is devastating news. All that has been said above, I concur with. Aaron, the two Michael's, the rest of the in-house team, the many contributors of data - thank you. I have not been able to be as active as I hoped, but I have been gathering the records for the National Arboretum, to be part of the case for arguing for a permanent science staffer there. So much of the biodiversity of the Arboretum is known from the records of a small group of recorders, but what a gold mine of information. There will be many other local areas where the same situation prevails - NatureMapr has been the catalyst and the focus of knowledge gathering and learning that couldn't happen in any other way. Oh, I do hope with the others that a way will be found to keep things going. It is such shortsightedness on potential major players, that this system, which is so inexpensive to run by comparison with any other method, and it is so much needed in our century of biodiversity collapse. Thank you for all the NaturMapr team!!!!!

Thank you Adam & the great team of experts. You have taught me so much since I discovered NatureMapr in 2018.

Thanks for all the work your team has done on this, it was a great try in a tough market. I guess youve been lobbying government to see this as something worth investing in at a national scale, or even NSW government especially with its pipeline to bionet.

This is a big loss for science and the environment. Thank you for all the records your work in creating and maintaining the platform have made. Naturemapr records will remain important in the permanent records of Alas of Living Australia into which they have been being fed, and as a snapshot of Australia's biodiversity through these years.

Thank you.

Thank you Aaron & Team for initiating this project. So many new species discovered and so many new locations discovered for existing species showing that our local flora and fauna are thriving in so many places. Not just on public land but on private proerties that can be managed to sustain diversity as well as other agricultural activities. And thank you to all contributors that have provided me with so much information (and their photos) of species that I have been researching, notably Key's Matchstick Grasshopper that is no longer on the brink of extinction as previously thought, but thriving in new locations. By the way people can still send me pictures of grasshoppers and allies they want identified at r.farrow@iimetro.com.au!

This has helped me with finding jumping spider species in the ACT area. Its really sad to see the end of NatureMapr. I'm really starting to regret not using it much. A big thanks to Aaron Clausen, Lewis Choy, and the NatureMapr community for this amazing platform.

Very sad news. I've learned so much from this wonderful site and moderators. I still log in most days to see what others are seeing in the bush.

Very sad news.Thank you to all involved in creating and running this exceptional platform. At least I have until the end of the financial year to double down on my record gathering efforts.

I'm so sorry to hear this, it's such sad news. I have learnt so much since joining and will really miss it. I will also miss the NatureMapr community. Thank you to Aaron and everyone who put in all the effort to keep the site running.

So sorry to hear this news and I cannot believe that such an interesting, informative and scientific platform like NatureMapr will not continue. I hope its returns in a different guise.

I’m gutted. I don’t know what I will do. What will happen to my wonderful community - my moderators who have taught me so much? I have been able to document flora and fauna on our 20 acre property - currently 408 species. Kevin Mills is my key moderator there with Jason being a big help. How will I continue this work? I’ve recorded 402 plant species in the Aranda Bushland Nature Reserve. I never ever would have been able to do that without Ciaran and Luke and both Michaels and so many other generous and patient moderators. I’ve had such fun - the discussions about Cassinia sifton, Glycine microphylla vs clandestine and so many others. And I still get my Wahlenbergias wrong. I know when I submit a Gang-gang sighting I’m making MM happy. There are so many things I will miss.

Hi all, I noticed Aaron’s initial message in the header of the web site a few days before his official announcement and sent a private notice to a few of the key people. I fully support all of the comments but have to make specific observations. Aaron and Michael M developed a project well in advance of the times when nothing like this project existed locally or world-wide, though the Atlas of Living Australia did exist but not to the same capacity as CNM. CNM sparked a fire that sped through the community of the ACT and ignited a passion for nature as perhaps not seen before. While always interested in photography and nature I owe this project to opening my mind and knowledge of just what surrounded us. Since contributing to CNM I have so often seen joggers passing through and thinking – stop – just what are you missing by just running past all of this wonderful nature.
Besides Aaron and his amazing team there are some that I just have to single out. Most obvious of course are Michael M and Michael B, both there from the start and contributing so much in the background that was not obvious to most members. Michael M moderated over 61,000 records and I noticed often in the wee small hours of the morning. A staggering contribution. This on top of his project into the breeding habits of Gang Gang Cockatoos that contributed to more information about this species than had previously been known. The same can be said of his contribution to the Small Ant Blue Butterfly, which could not have been possible without Christine D’s initial sighting of this rare butterfly: the only now known population is within the ACT.
Michael B: a tireless effort with reporting of over 10,000 records and moderating nearly 25,000 records but also many hours spent in the background with testing and working on the back-end that makes the whole project run.
Special mention to Tim Leach who always provided such clear and detailed photos. Tapirlord should also be commended for not only reporting over 12,000 sightings, but nearing Michael M with an amazing 41,000 moderated sightings. Matthew Frawley for his high number of moderations but also his dedication to updating the community social media.
There are many more to commend but I think in all of the current accolades we are also forgetting two of our very important junior moderators. While they may not have contributed many sightings, Natureguy (Luke) and Archer were both only in their very early teens when they began moderating for CNM. Both had very extensive knowledge of the birds of the ACT, well above my own at the time. Perhaps their studies past high school overtook them but they should definitely be acknowledged for the work they did. They make you feel that there is hope for the future with a younger generation looking after the interests of the natural world.
I am particularly grateful that while I always had a high interest in photography and nature, this project expanded my knowledge of identifying so many aspects of nature that would never have happened without CNM.
I can’t list and thank everyone involved individually so just extend my thanks to you all. I fully understand the time and effort involved by all but to be frank, as I said to Aaron, I had begun to feel the effort of collecting, sorting, reporting and moderating records after so many years had started to become burdensome so had been considering slowing down. This said, I’m amazed that this project, started and maintained by a comparatively small group of technical people and sustained by a larger, but still comparatively small group of people, has made such a marked impact on the world.
Everyone involved should be congratulated for contributing to this great project and it has been a privilege to have been involved.

Very sorry about the closure. Naturemapr has opened new worlds to me since I joined in 2024, I’ve learned so much about so many species. It’s a very educational platform. Always interested in nature, it’s been a joy that, as I near my 7 th decade on this beautiful planet I came across a way to work alongside amazingly knowledgeable people on an equal basis to add to our knowledge of the natural world. I’m so impressed by the generosity and support of the moderators and other contributors, of the tech and scientific teams led by Aaron and Michael who worked courageously to overcome many issues in the past year or so. A truly valuable and valiant effort that deserved to succeed. Many thanks.

Sorry to hear this news - I have found it immensely useful to have expert confirmation or correction of tentative identifications, and had a large number of WA wildflowers ready to post. It's been good to have found a few plants in previously unrecorded spaces, and to have entered the photo competition last year. A shame that no mechanism could be found to support such a useful tool for studying environmental diversity, and encouraging public involvement and interest in science.

I echo the sadness in the previous comments and I give a great ‘thank you’ to all involved in the running of NatureMapr. Thanks to NatureMapr I have been able to get very useful herbarium collections of some fungal species. Sometimes of species that I had not previously collected in the ACT – and on the odd occasion, a species I had never collected. Amongst the fungal sightings on NatureMapr are those where the fungus seems distinctive enough to be identified from a photo alone – but that I have not otherwise seen and couldn’t find depicted elsewhere (so they’ve remained in the “What the hell is that?” category). Such photos are simply more evidence of how much is still unknown about Australian fungi. NatureMapr has a wonderful, easy- to-follow structure and I have used it to identify, or check the identification of, various plants or invertebrates that I’ve seen on my walks.

Echo all of above very sad.

Not just a pity, it will affect the mental health and well being of many of us oldies and remove a source of inspiration and education. The creators are warmly thanked for all their efforts to now, how could such a treasure be allowed to fold?

NatureMapR has been my lifeblood since COVID. Its like losing a family member! (cue box of tissues) Add the news to my depression pile. But a big THANK YOU to all involved, and all those that ID'd my sightings, encouraged me by answering endless "silly' questions and placing me on a new path of discovery. I am transitioning to iNautralistAU which I do understand a little better now having had my toes in NatureMapr for so long though struggle still in the genus, family and sub groups. I will really miss everyone and the easy to use platform, and the knowledge bank. I still remember when I first met Michael in Albury - I was so excited that I had my first native bee photo and showed it to him - he pointed out that it was a Villa Fly and explained the sets of wings. I never knew flies could be pretty! I like to think that this has been a stepping stone for everyone involved and I agree that you don't know until you try some things. hugs <3 <3 <3

I've met so many wonderful people through NatureMapr, and am going to miss this resource so much! I so wish there was so some way to keep it going, I would happily pay for the service (though I know it's not enough). Thank you for everything you've done over the years, Aaron and crew.

I wrote to local MLA members when the ending of NatureMapr was announced. This is the reply. The second last paragraph is the most interesting. While not giving anything specific, it appears to indicate that the ACT gov't is aware of the issues and is looking for options.
Suzanne Orr MLA
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water
Minister for Disability, Carers and Community Services
Minister for Seniors and Veterans
Member for Yerrabi
ACT Legislative Assembly
London Circuit, GPO Box 1020,
Canberra ACT 2601
+61 2 6205 1439
orr@act.gov.au
SuzanneOrrMLA
SuzanneOrrMLA
Our ref: 25/0428312
Roger Hnatiuk
rjhnatiuk@yahoo.com.au
Dear Dr Hnatiuk
Thank you for your email of 13 October 2025 to the Minister for City and Government Services,
Tara Cheyne, about NatureMapr and their recent decision to wind up operations. I am replying to
you about this matter as it falls under my ministerial portfolio responsibilities.
The ACT Government was involved in the early stages of establishing the platform. Government staff
provided guidance and input to the developer to assist with the creation of a citizen science
biodiversity data collection service that could provide robust data that the ACT Government could
rely on for decision-making and policy development. Since 2016, the ACT Government has been
pleased to provide NatureMapr with over $860,000 in Government funding. Further, the ACT
government has ongoing contracts providing funding to NatureMapr for the provision of citizen
science data collection services for the ACT Government for Biodiversity and Biosecurity sightings,
supporting this service and the citizen science community that enables it.
The Government respects NatureMapr’s business decision to wind down its operations whilst
continuing services for the ACT for the duration of our current contracts. Given this, the Government
is considering its operational requirements from a citizen science data platform and exploring what
options are available when NatureMapr ceases its operations in our region. This is to ensure that the
critical biodiversity records provided by citizen scientists continue to inform the ACT Government’s
decision-making and policy development and to enable early detection of biosecurity risks.
I trust this information is helpful. Thank you again for your contributions to citizen science in the ACT
and your passion and enthusiasm for the environment and conservation.
Yours sincerely
Suzanne Orr MLA
Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water

This is a sad announcement, As others have said it has given me plenty of opportunities to provide input into improving knowledge of biota in the ACT and surrounding NSW. It is a good day when you find something significant and the fact that it happens on a regular basis shows how little we know. Data sets become ever more valuable the longer thay run and I hope that something is continued, at least in the ACT. It is not just the software infrastructure that is the important but the network of people that supports it. Breaking this up has real cost to the community at large, far greater than the modest sums of money (in government terms) involved. The relationship between the community here and the Government authorities responsible for conservation and biosecurity is a highly valuable thing and needs to be taken into account.

Yes, good point about the modest sums of money in government terms. They were paying peanuts and getting something worth far more than what they were paying. Then consider they dumped almost $78 million on a failed IT project that delivered almost nothing: https://region.com.au/acts-78-million-scrapped-human-resources-project-characterised-by-multiple-failures-at-all-levels-audit/731542/ So big fail by ACT Government here.

Firstly, I would like to thank Aaron in particular and all of the CNM community.

I have been reflecting on the achievements. The first and big thing is that CNM has enabled us to map at a fine level the biodiversity in Dryandra Street Woodland. We have logged over a thousand taxa including several species of conservation concern. Others were in the first half dozen or so records in NM for that species. Parts, at least, of the DSW are vulnerable to development pressures. The conservation data for that conversation and for any related campaigns is already in the bag. We know already that it is a highly valuable woodland remnant. The data covers all seasons. It covers the length and breadth of the DSW., I have checked and the records are safety tucked away in the ALA.

We were also able to log weed species and ferals like rabbits. These helped form the basis for developing well-focused control strategies.

While out and about we were able to talk to numbers of DSW users, pointing out the species of interest and pointing out the improvements. This has included on-site visits with ministers. The data collection went hand in hand with a massive weed clearance effort and with a targeted planting effort. Recently I went out and logged expanded distributions of several native species which are taking advantage of the space released by the weeding effort. It is great to get a positive feeling about the results of a sustained volunteer effort. I am hoping shortly to meet with two ACT Government ministers and will take the opportunity to lobby for funding support for CNM.

I am grateful for the wonderful support particularly of the moderators. I have often wished I was sixty years younger so that I could get stuck into learning moth ID.

So, best wishes and thank you to everyone who has contributed to this remarkable achievement.

Con Boekel

Con, I so agree with you. If I was fifty years younger when I discovered NatureMapr I'm sure I would have been much more keen to learn all the Latin names of everything I have discovered since contribtuing and learning from NatureMapr. Sadly, with the demise of NatureMapr I fear that I have also reached my peak and burnout point as I'm almost ready to throw in the towel. At the start it was exhilarating and a real passion but lately it has become more of a tedious effort taking up far too much of my time. While I will be bowing out, I do hope that the funding becomes available for Canberra Nature Map to continue. I won't be switching to iNaturalist as I find the CNM platform the better of the two. It has been a wonderful experience.

Today is my 1013th day on NatureMapr. With 16k+ sightings it's a hard to put into words how much NM means to me.

I’ve always been a casual nature enthusiast but now I keep spider moults on my desk at work and jars filled with mystery caterpillars and eggs at home. My loved ones know that if we're going on holiday, they should always factor in time for me to hunt for bugs.

I'm not particularly sociable (I'm allergic to group events) but I deeply appreciate all of you. In particular, mods like @donhe , @AlisonMilton , @Heinol , @trevorpreston , @MatthewFrawley , (and many more) who have taken the time to teach and guide me.
Thank you to the guerrilla-gardener-turned-legit @JohnDM (and more whose usernames I forget) thank you for creating the urban green spaces I love to visit.
@MichaelMulvaney and @MichaelBedingfield and of course @aaronclauson whose dedication and vision have made this possible.
The expertise and generosity of the NM community continues to amaze me.

I'm glad CNM will continue for a little longer, and I sincerely hope there is a pathway to saving it (AND RESTORING THE MAPS FUNCTION!!!!!! How else will I find those under-surveyed urban parks and passion projects?!)

<3

Dang it, I thought I'd checked all the tags had worked. @AaronClausen - thank you too!