Citizen Science Tools Connect us with Nature

Taking photos with Smartphones or a traditional camera while in nature can be very helpful beyond just capturing memories. Using the iNaturalist app is a great way to learn about the nature around you and contribute to the recording of the biodiversity. The more we capture and record, the more we build our understanding and appreciation of the biodiversity around us.

For example, imagine coming across this strange eyecatching fungus while on a hike. Judith took this photo in the area of Squamish. She took a few photos and uploaded them to the Biodiversity Squamish iNaturalist project. Her phone's GPS automatically captured the location. Two or more experts were able to identify this is as Alpine Jelly Cone.  Read more here.

Alpine Jelly Cone - Judith Holm

Try exploring iNaturalist and Biodiversity Squamish from your devices at home. You can learn so much before even going outside. These tools are for people of all ages, do you know elders with photos on their cameras? Transferring old photos via the iNaturalist website can be an inter-generational project that shows results. To learn more, request to view the recent recording of our Citizen Science Tools Webinar, if you have more questions, email biodiversity.squamish@gmail.com.

Click here to download PDF of the April 1st, webinar on use of INaturalist and Report-A-Weed.

You can view the Citizen Science Tools Webinar that took place April 1, 2020 on our YouTube Channel