Boost your shoot’s conservation credentials with Green Shoots mapping

Time Well Spent June 15, 2022

BASC adds new features, which focus on sustainability, to its Green Shoots mapping tool; add buffer zones & protected sites!

BASC’s Green Shoots mapping and bag recording website provides a platform where you can map shoots, record wildlife and bag numbers, and assist in protecting and promoting shooting and conservation.

The more people that use the resource the better, as it helps to build up evidence and a complete picture to show the government, the media and the public that shooting makes an enormous contribution to conversation and the creation of a healthy environment.

The information you enter into the Green Shoots mapping tool is used to:

* Identify, plan and promote conservation projects that enhance shooting and conservation and contribute to local, national and international conservation goals.

* Support BASC’s work for shooting sports and species and habitat conservation.

* Demonstrate that shooting is a positive force for conservation and is sustainable.

What can I map using Green Shoots?

* You can use ‘Map It’ to map where you go shooting against Ordnance Survey or aerial background mapping.

* The ‘Seen It’ function allows you to provide records of wildlife and habitats, both on and off your shooting areas on a regular basis.

* Use ‘Custom Maps’ to create annotated maps of your shoots showing whatever you wish, such as planning your shoot management (for example locations of flight lines, drives, pens, feeders, high seats etc), access maps (for example safe routes onto the hill or saltmarsh, meeting points etc) or confirming the boundaries of your shoots with others.

* ‘Bagged It’ allows you to record your shooting trips and then make reports from those entries or just download them to an excel spreadsheet.

Recent updates to the Green Shoot mapping tool

BASC has recently added new features to the Green Shoots mapping tool. The changes focus on sustainability, allowing users to see where designated wildlife sites are situated in order to better sort and report wildlife records.

Users can now:

* Overlay maps with protected sites for nature, allowing users to appreciate differing environmental protections

* Integrate, map and export records of wildlife, providing shoots with a means of quantifying the benefits of land managed for shooting

* Add buffer zones to their maps for anything from safe fall-out zones of shot, to their proximity to protected sites

* Of specific use to deer stalkers and wildfowlers is the addition of National Grid references which have been added to allow exact recording of events.