About SEED

SEED – Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data portal – has been developed with and for the community of NSW, as a central place for everyone to find data about the NSW environment.

It is a web-based portal where the community and government come to access, interrogate, contribute, and share NSW environmental data. SEED streamlines the discoverability and accessibility of environmental data, which ultimately empowers evidence-based decision making and increased trust through greater transparency.

Who can use SEED?

SEED is for everyone who wants to:

• learn more about the NSW environment in a particular area.
• see the data that is being used in environmental decision making.
• manage land and ensure its long-term sustainability.
• access data for research and advisory purposes.
• help protect our environmental and cultural heritage.
• find out how data is being used.
• contribute to open environmental data in NSW.

How do I use SEED?

With SEED, you can search for environmental data and view it on the built-in map – meaning you do not require scientific expertise or specialist mapping software. You can overlay different types of data to gain a more complete picture of environmental conditions in a particular location. SEED also provides resources that assist you to understand the data, and links to the data in various formats should you wish to download it.

Information about how to use SEED can be found under the 'Need Help?' link at the bottom of any page.

Why was SEED developed? 

SEED is an initiative of the NSW Government in response to community requests for reliable and readily accessible information about the environment.

SEED was developed in collaboration with over 50 end-user groups, who advised that a unique and technically innovative approach was needed to improve access and use environmental data. SEED brings together applications to view environmental data including powerful search, visualisation, interactive mapping and content management tools never before integrated in Australia, to deliver a unique and seamless user experience.

What is different about SEED?

• SEED represents a collaborative effort between government agencies to provide environmental data in a single source allowing the user the capacity to overlay different datasets.
• SEED provides a medium to visualise data without requiring scientific expertise or specialist mapping software.
• SEED has been the catalyst for applying Creative Commons licensing to many data sources for the first time, for making data accessible in a standard format (through web services), and for improving the Metadata and Data Quality Statements that provide essential background information.
• SEED provides a medium for publishing and giving visibility to new environmental data.
• SEED is committed to iterative user centred design. This means that enhancements and new features are developed directly with and for users.

How can I contribute to SEED?

SEED is a community resource and needs your feedback to help it grow. Let us know about any additional types of data you would you like to see, new features and functionality and queries about the quality and usefulness of individual datasets. This feedback will assist us in prioritising new data sources and future development.  

Your feedback and suggestions for SEED are welcome and can be contributed via the Enquiries and Feedback page.

For more information about the data in SEED, see the SEED Dataset FAQs.

Our community consistently is involved in designing, testing and building new features on SEED. We would like to thank those that have been and will be involved in this rewarding and critical process that aids the iterative improvement of SEED.