Game Time

Match Metadata to Darwin Core

Emilie Boulanger, Elizabeth Lawrence

2026-07-22

Match Metadata to Darwin Core

📋 Setup

• Groups of 4–5
• Box of field + methodology fragments
• 4 posters per DwC table: Event · Occurrence · DNA · eMoF
  • Each table has a pile of DwC column headers. Not all are relevant! Find the one(s) that are

🎯 Task

• Read a fragment out loud as a group
• Decide: which table? which column (i.e. term)?
• Place it in the right spot
• Fill in the information with the right vocab

⚠️ Watch For

• Some fragments may split across 2+ columns
• Some fragments may not belong in any table

Facilitator notes: remind participants that DwC mapping is often a judgment call — several fragments (e.g., filter method, preservation buffer) are genuinely ambiguous between samplingProtocol and the DNA extension’s sop field, and that’s fine. The goal isn’t a single “correct” answer for every card, it’s practicing the reasoning process: read the raw text, identify what kind of information it is (event-level, occurrence-level, molecular method, or measurement), and find its home. After 20 minutes, walk the room and reveal the answer key live, pausing longest on posters where groups disagreed.

eDNA data for national monitoring

A national monitoring programme wants all eDNA data publicly available within one year.

Who are you?

Each of you will get a role, representing one of these stakeholder categories:

🌳 Field ecologist
🧬 Molecular laboratory scientist / Bioinformatician
💻 Data manager
🏛️ Repository curator
📜 Policymaker
🌐 Biodiversity database representative
🗺️ End user

👥 What do you need?

Within your stakeholder role, you should discuss and explain:

- **What you need?**
- **What concerns you?**
- **What data you can provide?**
- **What standards you require?**

Write your responses on sticky notes. Include your role!