Smart phones help to aid environmental protection

Residents of Alachua County have started to embrace two smart phone applications that help the Alachua County’s Environmental Protection Department save money and time locating environmental concerns.

The two free applications were launched about a month ago. Alachua County Environmental Protection Director Chris Bird said that the county is starting to see activity with the programs and hopes there will be considerably more participation as residents become aware of the technology and update their phones.

The county encourages residents to use the smart phone applications because, when citizens call to complain about an environmental violation, it is often difficult for county workers to determine the precise location of the concern. Street addresses aren’t good enough when trying to pinpoint an environmental issue. The apps use a smart phones’ GPS capabilities to report an exact location, making it easier for the county to address the concerns.

The “What’s Invasive?” application allows residents to report exotic plants that harm the local environment. It has a key that shows what invasive plants are in the area so users can easily identify invasive plants and then use the app to report it.

“In our area, invasive plants are a threat to the environment and agriculture,” Bird said. The agriculture community is realizing that some invasive plants can hurt farming, and in result, the economy.

The other application is called “Creek Watch” which is set up to help identify trash and pollution in creeks. This app not only helps the government, but local volunteer organizations or even individuals that want to do a cleanup. Anyone can access the map which shows where trash has been reported.

Both programs are functionally fairly similar in usability.  The user snaps a picture using their phone and the application takes care of GPS mapping and recording the data.

“What’s Invasive?” is available for both the iPhone and Android-based smart phones.  “Creek Watch” is currently only available for the iPhone platform.

It is much cheaper and effective to gather information through a smart phone report than through a phone call, e-mail or walk-in, Bird said.

He said that data shows that within a couple of years the majority of cell phone users will have a smart phone device. The county is looking at other free smart phone applications that it might want to adopt in the future.

Bird said, “I think that this whole idea of using smart phones to report community problems is going to be the future.”