LeafWatch smartphone app

Making observations of the amount of damage that the leaf-mining moth has done to trees, means that you have to remember to submit what you saw and where you saw it when you get home and turn on your computer.

What would be perfect would be if people had a little device to make those records while they were looking at the tree. It would be even better if it would record their location automatically, and even allow them to submit a photo of one of the leaves, while they were there.

Aha! Smartphones would be the perfect tool!

...And so was born the idea of the LeafWatch app.

Stephen Fry tweets

Stephen Fry likes our app! He tweeted today inviting people to join in. 

 

Join with the thousands of others and take part in the Mission: alien moth survey with the Leaf Watch app or via the website.

BBC Midlands Today

Today I filmed in Cheltenham with the BBC Midlands science correspondent David Gregory, who was really fascinated with the potential of the LeafWatch app to record the damage caused to our horse-chestnut trees.

David Gregory also blogged about the app.

Climbing higher in the charts

Our app has climbed in the iTunes charts. It is now at number 3 in the iTunes Education Free app chart.

Do some proper science on your telephone…

Eurodroid, an app review site, posted a very favourable review on the LeafWatch app, describing it as a "rather excellent niche Android app".

They then go on to describe the "deadly conker-eating moths that are gradually eating away at the UK’s stock of horse-chestnut trees". Well, that's a bit of exaggeration, but the right sort of idea!

Guardian article

Conker Tree Science was featured in the Guardian today.

Press release

We have just issued the latest press release through the University of Bristol, promoting the LeafWatch app:

Nationwide mission to save conkers from alien invaders gets underway.