RESTORE – the case study repository is coming…
Background –My personal involvement began last year in my role as a consultant for UK based IT Services Company SFW that is working closely with the RESTORE partnership to develop the case study aspects of the website. With my knowledge of riverine environments limited to canoeing it was with some trepidation that I attended the Ljubljana seminar to meet RESTORE stakeholders and potential end users. Much to my relief everyone was friendly, the sessions were interesting and webbed feet were not mandatory. Hopefully I will get to meet some of you again at the RRC event in Nottingham. Subsequently we have refined the system requirements to take into account findings, feedback and ideas from the conference and are currently proceeding with design.
Why is this of interest? – We are hoping to create a focal point for pooling information and sharing experience within the European river restoration community. Specifically the case studies will be presented in the form of interactive web pages that include thematic and geographic information. You will therefore be able to:
· Search case studies by theme, location or other attributes
· Visualise cases on integrated Google Maps
· Contribute by adding new cases
· Edit cases with supplemental information
· Discuss cases with community members
· Contact other contributors
Do I have to be an IT expert? – No, we are designing the system to be as friendly as possible with the inclusion of simple pages and forms to allow all users to participate. A partial screen extract for a draft sample query page is illustrated above.
What is happening next? – A working prototype has been produced by SFW and work will progress to fully define the data model and user interface aspects. Some key milestones include:
· 20th April 2012 – demonstration of the case study repository at the River Restoration Centre Network conference in Nottingham.
· June 2012 –system deployment complete
How can I get involved? – We are encouraging as many people as possible to become involved and contribute to building an online community. We would love to see people and receive comments at the Nottingham demonstration and during subsequent usage. Once the system is operational, please help by including your existing and planned restoration works within the repository. Feedback is always welcome at
restore@environment-agency.gov.uk
Pete Jeans, SFW
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