Planet Birdsong Foundation partners with universities and similar institutions for purposes of sound data collection and
the computer science aspects of game development. Collected data are passed to Rwanda's local Biodiversity Information
System data portal, already collecting historic and new data on flora and fauna, as well as to global datasets such as eBird
managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Macaulay Library. We engage locally with academic scientists and key figures such as ornithologists
and bird data recorders in situ and remotely.
The project builds ongoing mentoring and training relationships with bird tourism guides and bird clubs. Whilst these
groups often already engage as citizen science we ensure that they collect data to populate the eBird/Merlin datasets.
The project enables these citizen scientists to enhance their activities with sounds. They are given free access to a
suitable edition of the training games which are designed to be compatible with smart phones widely used locally.
Community groups and children are invited to benefit from access to the games. This occurs simultaneously at a local
sector or village level, and supports achieving economic goals as well as the advancement of art, science and technology
at school, TVET or university level. All these are interlinked.
