The Nest Address is an app that helps save storks from electrocution (their nests sit on powerlines). We crowd-sourced the effort to find the hazardous nests around the country. Enel crews could locate and secure them, protecting the wellbeing of a bird species important for the ecosystem (see results).

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Enel, together with the Ornithological Society of Romania, created The Nest Address, a geolocation app that people can use to send location data of any stork nest they see.

It is the first mobile crowd-sourced initiative to keep storks safe. The app collects data from users to create a map of all stork nests around the country, pairing them with additional information like number of birds per nest, size, condition etc.

Using this one-of-a-kind representation of nest locations, Enel crews are dispatched to check and secure each nest against electrocution.

The data collected is even more valuable, as storks rarely change nests. This way, for seasons to come, The Ornithological Society of Romania have a basis to lead their conservation strategies. They are provided with an accurate count of stork population, their nesting behavior, locations etc.

This data mapping is a long-term project by Enel, as each year the app will provide new data. This is essential as the power grid is constantly evolving, while the monitoring of stork population is crucial to prevent it from becoming endangered.

Download the app on Google Play & App Store as “Uite Barza!” (Romanian name).

The Nest Address campaign uses a crowd-sourced approach to data gathering.

The starting point is the individual location data submitted by each user, for the stork nest they found. To make the process as accessible as possible, the user is asked to send a picture of the nest, and the app automatically embeds the GPS coordinates of the location. Additional information can also be submitted.

Then all the data is collected by Enel, to create a country-wide map of stork nests, with all the extra information submitted (e.g. size, number of birds).

The location is also automatically sent out to Enel crews in the area of the nest, so they can quickly check and secure it against electrocution.

At the same time, the data is shared by Enel with biologists and conservation experts from the Ornithological Society of Romania. They use it to monitor population and nesting habits.

All data is integrated in a platform that will be constantly updated each migrating season. This way, the platform will be evolving, offering a rich database for the energy company and environmental NGOs.

The data driven campaign was a success for Enel and the Ornithological Society of Romania. More than 2.800 nests were identified, amounting to over 8.200 storks. This means that 80% of the estimated stork population of Romania (10.000 birds) was located.

Alarmingly, we found that 54% of the nests put the storks in danger of electrocution because of power lines. But, based on locations sent by app users, 93% of all nests were secured by Enel crews with special non-conductive frames, that keep the storks safe.

The results are even more valuable as stork rarely change their nests, returning every year to the same location. This way, conservation experts can now monitor stork population on the long run, as every year new data will be provided by app users.

The information collected is already being used by the Ornithological Society to create wildlife protection strategies for the coming years. It is also shared with other countries, as part of a larger, European-wide, stork census effort.

The Nest Address is a data-driven campaign that crowd-sources the effort to locate storks in danger of electrocution (their nest sit on powerlines). The tool for collecting data is an app that anyone can use to tag stork nests around the country, automatically sending GPS coordinates. Based on the locations received, teams from the energy company Enel secure the nests.

Along with the location, users can provide additional data. Everything is then shared with the Ornithological Society of Romania, creating the basis for their conservation efforts: including a stork census, a digital map of nest location and other tools.

With smartphone penetration in Romania growing by 400% between 2012-2016, we realized that the best instrument to locate nests is already in everyone’s pocket: the smartphone. We created The Nest Address app so anyone could take part in our effort to protect storks, by sending data about their nests.

To create the app and select the data gathering approach, we teamed-up programmers, wildlife experts from the Ornithological Society of Romania and Enel engineers familiar with the country-wide power grid. Bringing together their unique knowledge helped to create the best tool to collect relevant data.

The user-submitted locations were sent in real time to Enel crews in the proximity of the coordinates. The teams were dispatched to check and secure the nests, protecting storks against electrocution.

The next level of data interpretation was implemented by experts from the Ornithological Society. Using the data map, they can extrapolate nesting behavior and create a stork census that will be updated yearly, monitoring the stork population.

We targeted smartphone users through a mobile advertising campaign. The initiative reached an even greater audience, once local authorities got involved. Mayors granted official addresses to stork nests, and the initiative quickly made prime-time news.