First training session at Pl@ntNet in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Before the start of the assignment, a tutorial explaining the steps required to download and install the Pl@ntNet app on an Android phone, create a user account, configure the phone, and download the onboard and supplementary data was sent to all participants registered for the training days, This was done to familiarise them with the platform and to make it easier for them to get to grips with the tool during the practical sessions on each training day.

The training sessions took place at ERAIFT on 11, 20 and 21 April, at the Kisantu Botanical Garden on 13 April, and at the INERA research station, located in the Luki Biosphere Reserve, on 16 April. 

Les 106 personnes qui ont participé aux différentes journées de formation sont rattachées à l’ERAIFT (étudiants et assistants), à l’INERA (personnel de l’Herbarium de Kinshasa et des stations de recherche de Luki et de Kondo), à l’Université de Kinshasa, UNIKIN, (enseignants de la Faculté des Sciences et Technologies et de la Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques et Environnement), à l’Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, ICCN, (personnel du Jardin Botanique de Kisantu et de la cellule informatique de la Direction générale à Kinshasa), la Direction des Inventaires et Aménagement Forestier du Ministère de l’Environnement, Développement durable et Nouvelle Economie du Climat, l’Université Joseph Kasa-Vubu de Boma, UKV, (étudiants et chercheurs) et l’Institut Supérieur Pédagogique, ISP, de Kikwit (enseignants de la Faculté des Sciences).

The 106 people who took part in the various training sessions are affiliated with ERAIFT (students and assistants), INERA (staff from the Kinshasa Herbarium and the Luki and Kondo research stations), the University of Kinshasa, UNIKIN (lecturers from the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation, ICCN (staff from the Kisantu Botanical Garden and the IT unit of the General Directorate in Kinshasa), the Directorate of Forest Inventories and Management of the Ministry of the Environment, Sustainable Development and the New Climate Economy, Joseph Kasa-Vubu University in Boma, UKV (students and researchers) and the Higher Pedagogical Institute, ISP, in Kikwit (lecturers from the Faculty of Sciences).

On 14 April, we were able to add further records of the flora of the Kisantu Botanical Garden to the platform and continue training a number of participants who had expressed an interest. This provided an opportunity to introduce them to the distinctive characteristics of several plant families and to test the mobile app, which is just as up to date as the online version. 

On 17 and 18 April, we were able to gather further data on the flora of the Luki Biosphere Reserve (a Pillar 1 super-site) and, in particular, to photograph a dozen tree species from the permanent plot network, for which there were very few or no images on the platform.

A satisfaction questionnaire comprising five closed-ended questions was completed by 82 of the 106 participants who attended the training sessions. Analysis of the results shows that all participants plan to use the Pl@ntNet app in their professional and personal lives (85% regularly and 15% occasionally), almost all would recommend it to their network (definitely 79% and probably 18%), and most are satisfied with the training (very satisfied 56% and satisfied 40%). During this first training session in the DRC, 101 Pl@ntNet accounts were created and 1,419 observations corresponding to 489 species were shared on the platform.