Calling all amateur nature lovers! An easy way to identify local species has taken the global naturalist community by storm. iNaturalist is a mobile app that allows naturalists of all backgrounds and disciplines to catalogue and share their observations of a wide array of species. To date, iNaturalist users have made over 84 million observations of over 345,000 species. These observations can be used to help others learn about nature, as well as for people to collect data for scientific research projects. Learn more about iNaturalist and explore observations.
Apps like iNaturalist help to make scientific discovery and the wonders of nature accessible to those of all educational backgrounds. In the local context of the Arb, iNaturalist can be used as a tool for non-scientists to contribute to scientific endeavors, also known as “Citizen Science”. Visitors can use iNaturalist to learn more about what species are found in the Arb, as well as help contribute to management efforts. There are a number of invasive, nonnative species in the Arb, such as buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and bush honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica). By identifying these invasive species, among others, and where in the Arb they are located, non-scientists and amateur naturalists can participate in citizen science to contribute to the management of the Arb.
So how can I make an observation? The app is fairly straightforward – to make an observation, take or upload a picture of the species that you want to identify, and iNaturalist will give you the genus of the species, and then a list of possible identifications. You can also click on each species to learn more about its origin and distribution. Plenty of users are already making observations of a wide range of flora and fauna in the Arb — get out and join them!
–Cassie Cunniff ’23, for the Cole Student Naturalists
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