For whom was Pollenn® developed?

For the population to act
The use of Pollenn® is free of charge. On the platform, users can enter field observations in real time and thus effectively support the map-holding organizations. The data thus provided is a crucial contribution to solving environmental problems that affect us all.

For public and private organizations
Pollenn® is specifically designed to help organizations collect field observation data for their environmental projects. The system's flexibility, its operation on all digital media, and its efficient data management provide a powerful tool for improved productivity.

Who can join the Pollenn® community?

Everyone. The platform is completely open in terms of the number of participants.

User categories:

• Administrator: records observations, has primary responsibility
• Manager: records observations, limited management mandate (help with monitoring and other tasks)
• Member: records observations (registered contact)
• Visitor: records observations with or without contact form

Note:

You can open a free account at any time. If you want to become an administrator of a Pollenn® test card, contact us. 

How to become an administrator of a card?

To be able to administer a card, you need to open an account. The administration team will then give you the access rights.

For a presentation or a test card contact us.

Do I have to open an account to join Pollenn®?

No. Pollenn® was developed to be able to involve all interested parties with maximum flexibility. Opening a free account allows you to enter your observations without having to fill out a contact form for access. 

If you are interested in a paid administrator account, it is necessary to open an account, for that contact us.

How can I delete my account?

It is not yet possible to delete your account automatically. If you want to do that, contact us.

What is the difference between the Pollenn® main map and the project maps?

The global Pollenn® map shows all active maps within their community as well as the content shared by the administrators of these maps.

You can also find additional information such as events, practical examples and organizations that are working to preserve our environment.

Who is entitled to create a map on Pollenn?

Only administrators can create a map. To do so, they must receive access rights from the Pollenn® team after opening an account. To open an account and become a card administrator, contact us.

Where do the observations I see on the Pollenn® cards come from?

The observations on the maps come from different sources:

1. From the Pollenn® community (public data)
2. From the Info Flora database (invasive alien plants)        

Why is my observation no longer visible on the map?

Observations registered on a card are always hidden at first to have their content checked by the administrator.

It is also possible that your data was registered publicly, but then made private by the administrator. In this case, you can contact the administrator of the map directly. You can find his or her contact information on the presentation profile.

How do I delete an observation?

At the moment only managers and administrators have the possibility to delete their own observations. If you have entered an observation via contact form or via your account, it is enough to let us know the link to this observation via our "Contact" section (title: Delete comment).

Observations coming from the Info Flora database cannot be deleted on Pollenn®, in this case you must contact Info Flora directly. Once they are deleted from their system, they will not be visible on Pollenn® either.

For data sent from Pollenn to Info Flora, please provide the link to the observation. We will do everything necessary through our account at Info Flora. For this type of intervention, please contact us directly (title: Delete observation).

An observation was placed incorrectly or contains incomplete information, what should I do?

Should your comment not be registered correctly and you had filled in the contact form, you will receive an e-mail confirmation.

In it, depending on the modification time set by the administration, you can update the data and move the observation entry on the map. This is also possible for members (normal users, with account) of the system.

If the modification time has been exceeded, please contact the card administration. You will find their contact details in the presentation profile.

Managers and administrators can update and move any observation on the map.

How long can I change an observation?

During the time period specified by the card administrator.

Why are some comments notifiable?

According to the law, certain observations (e.g. species) must be reported to the relevant authorities. This applies to quarantine organisms such as ragweed and Japanese beetle, which are species that pose a high potential threat to our environment, agriculture, health, infrastructure, etc.

How do I enable and disable the geolocation service on my device?

Cell phone & Tablet:

• Iphone, Ipad
• Android device

Computer:

• Firefox
• Chrome
• Safari
• Edge

How does the geographic positioning system work?

Pollenn® allows you to position your observations very accurately (≈1m) on a map. The location coordinates are given in international longitude and latitude format. If you do not have an internet connection at the moment you use the app, the GPS coordinates of your phone will be taken.

When saving the map, you can move the observation icon to the exact observation location. 

Do I necessarily have to allow access to my location in order to make an entry?

No, it is not necessary to have geolocation enabled on your device to place an observation. The Pollenn® web app is designed so that your observations can also be recorded manually.

However, if the administrator needs your feedback to get data he needs for his activities, then some questions may be mandatory to fill in.

Who has access to the data of the contact form?

The data from the contact form will be forwarded to the card administration. We do not share them with third parties.

How is the data stored?

All our data is stored on secure servers in Switzerland. The data exchanged between the browser and the server is encrypted via TLS certificates. 

What data is synchronized with the Info Flora database?

All public data in Pollenn® related to exotic plants are synchronized directly with the Info Flora database. These data are then validated during the night in the online invasive neophyte fieldbook.

This is the synchronized data:

• ID of species
• Date of observation
• Location
• Name of user (integrated into the Pollenn project at Info Flora)
• Incidence
• Frequency
• Counting unit
• Survey
• Type of combat

The handling of public data follows the guidelines of our general terms and conditions.

Do I have to answer the questionnaire and the contact form?

No, in general you are not obliged to do so. However, by filling them in, you will help the card administrator to get more information useful for his/her activities and to contact you directly through the contact form.

However, if the Administrator needs your feedback in order to obtain data she needs for her activities, some questions may be mandatory to fill in

What is the purpose of the image recognition system?

Thanks to the images you put in the Pollenn content, we can train a learning system to gradually automate the processing.

With this technology, we can help administrators to more quickly manage and validate certain types of observations, such as the Japanese beetle.

For which species is the AI activated?

The image recognition technology, developed in collaboration with the University of Lugano, was initially designed for observations related to the Japanese beetle. Thanks to the experience gained, we can now improve this tool for other species available in Pollenn®.

How can I help train the AI?

To improve detection results, we need good quality photos of the species, preferably with the object in the center and still large enough to be recognized.

On which digital media does Pollenn® work?

• Browser: Firefox 57.xx+, IE 10+, Edge 40.xx +, Chrome 48.0.2564+, Safari 10+
• Tablet and Smartphone: Android 6+ Browser, Chrome 70+
• Ipad und Iphone: iOS, Safari 9+

Where can I find the Pollenn® web app?

The Pollenn® Web-App is available in the Apple store and for Android.

The app has the advantage of being able to take observation data offline. If a connection error occurs in the field, the observation data is recorded and synchronized as soon as the connection is restored. 

Do I need to download the Pollenn® application to participate?

No, Pollenn® was developed as a web app so that users can collect data directly from a web browser.