Thursday 7 September 2017

BioGaps top transcriber and upcoming prizes

The recently launched Transcribe website has attracted a number of volunteers who are assisting the BioGaps project in transcribing information on plant and animal specimen labels into a digital and thus useable format. We have 23 active volunteer transcribers. BioGaps digitisers and SANBI interns are also assisting with transcribing labels.

Label being transcribed


We appreciate all the valuable assistance provided by the volunteers! As such, we have awarded a prize to the volunteer who transcribed the most label images up until the end of August:

Well done and a big thank you to Lisa Hugo who transcribed 379 label images!

As a prize she has selected the book "Beeplants of South Africa".




BioGaps is EXCITED to announce that the project will be awarding prizes to the top volunteer transcribers at the end of September 2017, end of November 2017, end of January 2018 and end of March 2018. The winners will be announced shortly after the end of each period. Time is short for the September prize - so let's see who can transcribe the most this month!

Prizes can include books, National Botanical Garden entries, and Kirstenbosch Summer Concert tickets.

BioGaps digitisers are working hard every day imaging hundreds of plant specimens and their labels. We need all the help we can get in transcribing these records. There are also many bee and grasshopper specimen labels that require transcribing.

The Transcribe platform helps us fill in gaps in biodiversity knowledge for our precious Karoo region. This information will help guide future conservation and development activities (e.g. shale gas exploration) in the Karoo.