Privacy notice

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Privacy Notice version 1; 10/11/2022

This Privacy Notice sets out the basis on which we will process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us.

1. Who we are

iRecordStHelena is a website for sharing wildlife observations. It is operated by the St Helena Research Institute and supported by the UK Biological Records Centre (BRC) as part of the work of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). 

  • SHRI is collaborative organisation founded in St Helena that supports research and opportunities for learning and promotes, collaborates and conducts research on the island. 
  • SHRI is an affiliated organisation under the St Helena Government Lifelong Learning Sector, Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio. We are funded by the St Helena Government and donor aid.
  • SHRI was established in 2019 to be a national focus for research across all fields of study on St Helena. iRecordStHelena is one of our inaugural projects established for or the capture, quality assurance, synthesis and analysis of wildlife sightings.  iRecordStHelena is supported by the EU Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Territories of European Overseas (BEST) 2.0+) Initiative and the UKCEH. 

iRecordStHelena also benefits greatly from a number of expert volunteers on St Helena and overseas and affiliated to environmental organisations on St Helena.

SHRI is the controller for all processing of personal data for the purposes of iRecordStHelena. The SHRI Privacy Notice is here.

2. Why are we collecting your information?

SHRI is collecting your personal data in order to administer, run and share results of iRecordStHelena. When you submit records to iRecordStHelena, your name will be included alongside the survey information (including location and time of record) to form the ‘biological record’. You may be contacted with queries about the records you provide for the purpose of validating and verifying the survey data.  We are also collecting your personal data to provide you with information and feedback on iRecordStHelena, and to direct you towards external resources that are relevant to your contribution to iRecordStHelena.

We will collect the following personal data about you:

  • Name (as a recorder or as a verifier)
  • Email address
  • Location and date of any biological records you submit.

In data protection terms we are using the ‘lawful basis’ of ‘legitimate interest’ for collecting, processing and sharing your personal data. 

All data held by SHRI is compliant to UK data protection legislation and the basis on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, is covered by the SHRI privacy notice.

In addition to the information we ask you to provide through the website, we also collect information automatically about visits to the site using Google Analytics and in our server logs. This does not include any personal data but does include:

  • Your IP address
  • The pages you request, when you request them, and how you interact with them
  • The type of device and browser you use.

We use this information to support our work in various ways including monitoring performance, improving design, protecting against malicious behaviour and supporting funding applications.

3. How are we storing your information and will we share it?

All of your personal data that we collect will be stored securely in a database for as long as you are signed up with iRecordStHelena. If you no longer wish to be registered with iRecordStHelena, please contact irecordsthelena@edu.sh to let us know. The component of your personal data that forms part of the biological record (i.e. your name as a recorder or as a verifier, and the location and time of the record) will be kept permanently as part of the scientific dataset.

Sharing your email address with others

We will not openly publish your email address.  Expert volunteers working with us, who we appoint to the role of verifier, will have access to your email address in order to carry out their role in support of iRecordStHelena and the work of their National Recording Scheme or Society.

Projects that make use of iRecordStHelena may give you the option of providing consent to receive further information; if you choose to provide consent your email address will be available to the organisations running those projects. You can request to unsubscribe from such projects at any time.

Sharing your name that forms part of the biological record

Biological records produced by iRecordStHelena will also be shared with other organisations and individuals worldwide for purposes of scientific research. Your name will be included as part of the scientific records in these datasets.  Once the iRecordStHelena dataset is published it will be freely available for redistribution.   As use of iRecordStHelena data is for research in the public interest it is retained as part of our work and your personal data (recorder and verifier name) will remain public; open data can be downloaded, remixed, and redistributed by third parties.

Where data is openly published it will be available to anyone and it will be available for use anywhere.

Other than as set out above, and except where we have a legal obligation to so do, we will not share your personal data with anyone else and will adhere to current UK Data Protection Legislation  at all times.

4. Your rights and our contact details

You are entitled to access any of your personal data that we hold. You can view the personal data we hold of yours by logging in to your account on the iRecordStHelena website. Alternatively, please contact irecordsthelena@edu.sh with as much detail as possible on the information you would like us to provide and we will aim to respond within one month.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where we have relied on legitimate interest as the lawful basis for processing. You also have the right to request that we restrict or stop processing, rectify or delete your personal data (with the exception of names from datasets that have already been published openly). Where the personal data we hold has not been supplied by yourself, you are entitled to ask how we obtained the personal data. You can request that your iRecordStHelena user account is cancelled at any time by emailing irecordsthelena@edu.sh.

Please contact cehdataprotection@ceh.ac.uk  if you wish to progress any of these rights.

If you have any concerns about how your personal data is being used, we will try to answer any questions you have. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. You also have the right to an effective judicial remedy against decisions of the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

5. Changes to the Privacy Notice for iRecordStHelena

This Privacy Notice may be updated from time to time. The latest version will always be available at www.sthelenaresearch.edu.sh/privacy-notice. If changes are made to this Privacy Notice in the future, a prominent notice will be posted on the website.