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Doings at the Office (June 1998)

"Can you please give me some insight into what happens at the Protea Atlas Office, over the course of a month?"

The only thing guaranteed at the start of a day is that:

• Any plans made are liable to go out the window before 9.00am.
• EVERY day is different!

We have handled some very interesting and original queries.

• ‘Seed sources’ and ‘How to grow’ inquiries, showing a growing interest in Water Wise gardening
• People asking us to come and see the 'bossies' on their farm/smallholding.
• We have had smallholders wanting to know how they can transplant their proteas and "would you like to come and collect the proteas before we bulldoze a firebreak" … in three days time!
• We had a lady who wanted to know the best way to rejuvenate her Proteas - what fertiliser should she give them? (Can any one guess Tony's one word reply. It starts with an F, had four letters, and was perfectly polite, ending with an "e". If you have not yet got the answer then have a peek at The Marsh Rose).
• Info wanted on the King Protea. and Info wanted for school projects, etc.

In amongst these are the regular requests for Species Lists, maps for an area and lots of specimens for identification. Anything remotely scientific [which is most] falls on Tony's shoulders to answer. Almost always, information is provided free of charge. The website is proving a very handy place to refer people to, for those who have access.

Incoming data has priority over all, but for those of you who wonder why feedback sometimes takes a while, here is a rundown on the time processing takes.

• SRS's are sent for processing in batches of 100 - so the more data that comes in, the more frequently the batches are sent out. Sometimes your SRS's wait until we have sufficient, but with between 1 and 2 batches per week, this is usually just a few days.
• Before they go, they are checked and recorded. Experienced atlassers are processed immediately for blikbrein to sort out any errors, but beginners are checked by Ivan, which may take a day or two.
• Once sent for punching, we can wait close on a month for the data to come back. Usually this is much shorter, and our turnaround time averages 10 days. (compared to two months during exam time at UCT).
• On return, the electronic data on a stiffy disk is stored until we have 200-400 SRS (2-4 batches). These are then combined with electronic data sent directly from atlassers (using Nigel Forshaw’s Protea Atlas SRS Database package – see PAN 36.5). These data are transferred to UCT, where Blikbrein looks for and records errors, prints out the reports you receive and creates electronic data in database format. These electronic files are then transferred to NBI. Apart from having to go to UCT to get the printout, the process takes about 10 minutes (80 seconds data to UCT, 100 seconds checking data, 150 seconds data return, the rest of the time waiting for humans to press buttons).
• The printout is then interpreted by our human Blikbrein. With a volunteer, he makes all the corrections and clearly writes self-explanatory notes on the printouts when it is not possible to solve the problem. How long this takes depends on the number of errors – generally 1-4 hours.
• blikbrein then checks all the data again, specifically checking that all the bits in all the files (there are 9 main files) match. It then summarises the data by species and atlasser.
• Human Blikbrein puts together the nice letters and batch summaries that you get with your printout.

Specimen ID is generally dealt with as soon as the specimen arrives. It should be remembered that Tony and Ivan are often away, so fresh samples have a chance of deteriorating before they can get to look at them! Please do not put plants in plastic – they may rot in the post! Verifying something really unusual may take a long time as other opinions may need to be sought.

Our first months at Kirstenbosch have been dedicated to a number of priorities.

1. Contacting everyone who has shown previous interest in the project by letting them know where we are, what we have achieved and what we are doing. This was a relatively costly exercise, but one we felt was necessary.
2. Stimulating new interest through seeking media exposure in local newspapers, radio and the electronic media. Some of you may have heard Tony and Ivan on radio - quite a nerve-shattering experience as both interviews were live, not pre-recorded! We have had good [if not always accurate - bless them!] exposure in local papers, the latest being Weekend Argus. Independent Online's New Developments continued to support us by linking their lead page to our Website.
3. Planning trips and making contact with people/organisations in other parts of South and southern Africa, with a view to plug the gaps in our coverage.

The Next Three Months

We are very confident that the project is gaining momentum. We DO need help!

A good number of kits have gone to new, prospective atlassers, but the schedule is very full and we do not anticipate being able to run a formal training course until September.

Is there anyone out there who would enjoy some company on an Atlassing walk and is happy to take out one of the 'Newbies' to show them the ropes? Please let us know, so that we can give out your name.

Any assistance in broadening our network will help. It is difficult to establish links in the upcountry areas that we need to target. If you have contact with "Friends of - " groups, informal botanical societies, dendrological societies or hiking-rambling groups with a botanical bent, we would like to know about them, or perhaps if you could sow a seed or two, it will be appreciated.

September is going to be VERY full - We have flower shows galore to attend and make posters for. If you have a creative bent, your skills would be welcome during late July and August to prepare for these events. If there is a Flower Show in your area we would appreciate assistance. It is going to be tricky getting to three places on the same day!

Our letter to those no longer atlassing has shown that many people do not atlas because they can no longer move around so easily. There are many ways that these people (and others who have not yet participated for this reason) can still make a great contribution to the project. The skills that they have acquired in SRS completion, mapwork and species identification are needed by others in their area, who are still learning. If you know of anyone like this - we need them!!

Val Charlton

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