Hello WILDLABS Community!

As you may have noticed, we rolled out our new Badges feature this week! (Haven’t heard about the update yet? Learn about badges here.) 

One of the most important badges to earn is your Community Involvement Badge. This badge captures your overall involvement in the community, and it comes in four levels: Sprout, Sapling, Tree, and Ent.

Some of you might have been active on WILDLABS for a while now but don’t have your Sprout badge yet. Double-check that you’ve done the following:

• Fill in your profile on the settings tab
  • Add your name
  • Add a short bio describing more about you (e.g., your role, experience, or interests)
  • Upload a profile picture
• Join the Community Base Group and at least one other group
• Introduce yourself on the Welcome to WILDLABS discussion thread
• React / like 3 times to any content on the platform

Why is it so important to earn your Community Involvement Badge? Getting the Sprout badge will unlock editing rights on The Inventory, our dynamic, collaborative, wiki-inspired database of conservation technology.

Just like a wiki, this expansion to the WILDLABS platform will grow and improve through community contributions such as adding new conservation tech products and leaving product reviews. By requiring editors to have at least a Sprout badge, we can help prevent bots and spammers from spreading misinformation on the site. You can still view and explore The Inventory without this badge, just without the ability to contribute. Visit The Inventory now and start contributing!

If you have any questions about The Inventory or Badges, please leave a comment below, direct message me or drop me an email at jake.burton@wildlabs.net.

See below for more information on the requirements to level up your Sprout badge.