The Realms
What is a Nature Realm?
A Nature Realm is a digital layer (or virtual representation) associated with a real-world location. These realms can be associated with anything from nature resorts and reserves to urban green spaces, and even your own property. Each realm is a unique digital space where users can explore, document and discover the local nature and the stories associated with it. Each realm brings together a range of stories, observations, maps, surveys, biocultural evidence, podcasts - virtually anything that can be rendered in a digital format and is relevant to the location. The data sources include apps such as Guardians of the Realms (Android and iOS), or popular citizen science apps (view here), to games such as Spirits of the Realms, QuestaGame and the upcoming Guardians of Earth, to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Medium - anything that can be shared online.
How can I explore a Nature Realm?
In the physical world, you can visit any publicly accessible Nature Realm (noting some may be private). Perhaps you knew it was a Nature Realm before you visited, or perhaps you only discovered this during your visit via a QR code?
Once you onboard to the virtual experience of a Nature Realm (via a QR code in the real world, or via a link to a realm's webpage, or via the GoE 'View Public Realms' page ) you can:
view observations from past explorers,
discover species found in or near the realm, or even
add your own sightings and/or stories ('Add Sightings' to the realm using the Guardians of Earth platform, or other integrated apps).
How can I add to a Nature Realm?
If you've visited the location in the real world, you may have encounters with nature that you'd like to share in the form of sightings or stories.
Even if you have not visited the realm, you may knowledge or expertise that you can share in the form of stories or identifications (to help validate the species of the sightings being submitted by others).
Add your stories
It's super simple. These can be anything - they can even be links to other sources of data, such as YouTube or TikTok videos, or podcasts, or Medium articles. These stories may be insights about the species in the realm, nature-related events, talks, artistic expression, or your personal reflections of your own encounters with nature. Anything related to the location and its biodiversity or cultural state of affairs.
Add your sightings
By submitting your sightings of the local species - photos or videos - you can help collectively map out the health of the realm's biodiversity. It can also inspire others to connect with the land of the realm, and the life that calls it home.
You can add sightings via the Guardians of Earth games (such as QuestaGame or Spirits of the Realms), other participating nature mapping apps, or directly via the individual realm's webpage - click 'Add your... > ...Sightings'.
You can add your stories via the individual realm's webpage 'Add your... > ...Stories'.
Ready to make your own impact through a Nature Realm? Start by finding a Nature Realm to add to (view all public Realms here), or you can even create your own Nature Realm (get started for free).
What do the key indicators like BioScore mean for each Realm?
A realm's BioScore is an indicator of biodiversity health for the area, taking into account the quality of community biodiversity monitoring. The four components of the BioScore are:
Community - looks at community involvement (number of unique active participants) relative to involvement in the greater region.
Monitoring - looks at the amount of data being collected relative to the greater region.
Species diversity - looks at the number of unique species, relative to the number of observations, relative to the greater region.
BioValue - indicator of the value of the data being providing as determined by the community. It looks at the average score given per sighting by the Oracle (BioExpertise.org), or in some cases, by the app through which the sighting was submitted.
Stories - a unique system that allows the community to valuate story submissions based on their relevance to the biocultural health of the location.
The underlying methodology will be continually reviewed and improved by GoE's Scientific and Indigenous Kowledge Advisory Committee.
How do I set up my own Nature Realm?
It's free and easy to get started. Guardians of Earth allows users to create their own Nature Realms. Whether it's your backyard, a local park, or a nature reserve you manage, you can set up a realm and start adding observations. To set up your Realm, you'll simply need to enter a location, a few basic details (name, short description) and choose your subscription level. Once you have set up your free realm, you can upgrade it to a premium realm at any time for added benefits. You can even use the BioCoin you earn as an Elder via the Oracle of Life to upgrade your Realm subscription.
What are the benefits of a Nature Realm subscription?
A Nature Realm subscription offers a unique opportunity to contribute to global biodiversity conservation efforts while engaging with a community of nature enthusiasts and citizen scientists. Here are some of the key benefits:
Contribute to Biodiversity Regeneration: By subscribing to a Nature Realm, you're helping reconnect humanity to nature through technology.
Engage with and inspire the Community: Your Nature Realm becomes a hub for local and global community engagement. You can interact with players, share insights about the biodiversity in your realm, and learn from others. Here's what you can look forward to:
Gamified and Financial Incentives: Encourage community biodiversity sightings and knowledge sharing through fun game mechanics and financial rewards.
Augmented Reality Experiences and Real-World Game Integrations: Add an extra layer of fun and engagement with AR experiences and integrations with our upcoming GoE real-world based mobile game.
Stories: Share your Nature Realm stories with your community and the world.
Cross-Realm Competitions: Engage in friendly competition with other realms to boost community involvement and biodiversity discovery.
Iterative Feature Additions: We're always adding new features based on community feedback. Let us know what you want to see in your realm!
Educational Opportunities: Nature Realms provide a rich, interactive learning environment. They're a great way for individuals, families, and educational institutions to learn about biodiversity and citizen science.
Promote Environmental Stewardship: Owning a Nature Realm is a powerful way to demonstrate your commitment to environmental stewardship. It's an opportunity to lead by example and inspire others to take action for biodiversity conservation.
Access to Aggregate Reporting: As a Nature Realm owner, you'll receive reports about the biodiversity data collected in your realm aggregated from all supported apps for valuable insights into the species present, seasonal trends, and more.
Support the Guardians of Earth Platform: Your subscription helps support the ongoing development and maintenance of the Guardians of Earth platform, enabling us to continue to empower a new generation of custodians of life and land.
ESG Commitments: For businesses and organizations, a Nature Realm subscription can be a part of your Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments. It's a tangible way to show your commitment to environmental sustainability and community engagement, and can contribute to your overall ESG strategy.
Remember, each Nature Realm is unique, and the benefits can vary depending on your location, the local biodiversity, and the level of community engagement. But no matter where your realm is, your subscription will be making a difference for global biodiversity conservation.
Where do I go if I need support setting up or managing my Nature Realm subscription(s)?
If you need support setting up or managing your Nature Realm subscription, we're here to help! You can reach out to our dedicated support team through the following channels:
Email: Send us an email at info@earthguardians.life with your questions or concerns. We aim to respond to all inquiries within 48 hours.
Discord: Join our Guardians of Earth Discord server and post your question in the #🆘help-forum channel. Our community and team members are active there and can provide quick assistance.
FAQs: Check for updates to these Nature Realms FAQs.
Remember, we're here to ensure your experience with Guardians of Earth is as smooth and enjoyable as possible. Don't hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance!
What are the different types of Nature Realms?
Guardians of Earth offers different types of Nature Realms through 4 subscription levels:
Seed - Discover, share, and grow your realm's biodiversity
Sprout - Cultivate a community around your realm
Sapling - Grow your impact and connect with a wider community
Sequoia - Reach new heights, lead the way in discovering and conserving biodiversity
Each level comes with its own set of features and capabilities, allowing you to choose the one that best suits your needs.
Example Realm owners (not exhaustive):
Individual users who want to document biodiversity in their backyards;
organisations managing large nature reserves;
eco-resorts;
corporations tracking their biodiversity impacts across supply chains.
Can I support others' Nature Realms?
Guardians of Earth is all about community and empowering each other. If you're interested in supporting nature restoration globally, you will be able to purchase BioCultural Units (BCUs) - either generally (from all available Realms) or from an individual Realm. Your support will directly incentivise and reward the community providing high quality biodiversity monitoring and knowledge, and potentially unlock insights from monitoring tools that the community would have no access to without your support.
Importantly your purchase of BCUs will also allow you to benefit from aggregate reporting across all the realms you sponsor - so you can showcase your positive biodiversity impact to your own stakeholders. This could be a realm in a location you care about, or a realm managed by a community or nature restoration group whose work you want to support.
How does exploring a Nature Realm contribute to ecosystem research and regeneration?
Exploring a Nature Realm in Guardians of Earth is a fun and engaging way to contribute to biodiversity research and regeneration. As you explore a realm, you can document the biodiversity you encounter, from plants to insects to birds and more. Or you can contribute stories about your nature experience at that location. This data is validated via verification engines such as the Oracle of Life, or the Nature Songs system, and shared with the Realm owners, sponsors and global biodiversity databases. Ultimately this means this valuable information is not only in the hands of scientists and researchers studying these species and their habitats, but also in the hands of the community that is empowered to make a positive biodiversity impact ground-up.
Moreover, by engaging with nature in this way, you're also fostering a personal connection with the natural world, which is a key driver of nature regeneration.
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