iNaturalists in the City
Using iNaturalist as a Tool to Increase Outdoor Engagement in Philadelphia
Everyone is a Scientist!
With over 94 million observations logged by over two million personal observers from all over the world, iNaturalist is an incredibly powerful tool for modern day science. iNaturalist founders were able to create an app that shows how "science" isn't just for the elite but for everyone using an easy to figure out interface and a fun, almost "game-like" method of entering your observations.
iNaturalist is regularly updating their technology. Recently, iNaturalist announced that their most recent update that uses AI to "see" what your observation may be, can now can identify 55,000 taxa! The ability to have identifications of thousands of organisms right at your fingertips through photo identification is incredible.
What is iNaturalist?
"One of the world’s most popular nature apps, iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you. Get connected with a community of over a million scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! What’s more, by recording and sharing your observations, you’ll create research quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature."
Younger observers will enjoy and easily adapt to the iNaturalist app! One study saw that younger volunteers actually observed mollusks, arachnids and insects compared to older volunteers who more frequently observed birds and plants.
Citizen science data collected through iNaturalist observations has been key to help monitor urban biodiversity health.
iNaturalist encourages those who enjoy using their phones to get outside and explore! This app has the potential to increase one's sense of place by building a connection to your local urban green spaces. Allowing for hands-on experience is also a great way to learn, and it's fun!
The use of iNaturalist, especially during a BioBlitz (where observers record as many observations as possible during a certain length of time), helps build community. Neighbors are able to come together with a common interest and curiosity all while collecting valuable data about their specific urban green spaces.
“We’re generating data but we’re connecting with place, with each other. We’re building community,” says Rebecca Johnson, citizen science research coordinator at the California Academy of Sciences.
Citizen science is an incredibly powerful and vital tool to researchers all over the world. iNaturalist, with its huge data set, has been used in at least 150 published journals though this number is likely much higher. The connection that the "everyday" person can contribute to important scientific discoveries is amazing! For example, scientists have been able to use iNaturalist data to find observations of rare tropical butterflies!
Places to Use iNaturalist in West Philly
Where to Explore?
Explore five of the most diverse urban green spaces in West Philadelphia: Fairmount Park, Malcolm X Park, Clark Park, The Woodlands and Bartram's Garden. These parks can be used for programming, environmental education activities, family outings, and just a place to get outside!
Look, Log, Learn!
iNaturalist is both an easy to use and a fun way to connect with the outside world all while gathering helpful data for scientists! Follow along in this short tutorial as Lauren shows you how to ID organisms found in an urban space.
iNaturalist Projects in Philadelphia to Join
A collaborative effort of West Philly residents and visitors to explore the natural world right here in the heart of the city!
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation stewards 10,200 acres of public land, connecting the city’s residents to the natural world, to each other, and to fun physical and social opportunities. Philadelphia’s large, diverse parks and recreation system provides something for everyone.
Cataloging fungi that grow in the greater Philadelphia area for the Philadelphia Mycology Club.
An Environmental Educator's Perspective on iNaturalist
Why is it important for people to get outside and explore, especially those that live in urban spaces?
Many reasons, first and foremost, the whole concept of you won't protect something unless you know it and love it. People need to get out to love the outdoors and not be afraid of the outdoors. I think that now, especially now with despair about climate issues, the more you can get people (children) outside to experience the joy and wonder of the natural world I think that that in a lot of ways is helpful to not feel so much despair about it. The other thing is that, science is one of those things (like any subject really), that you understand and retain it so much better if it is something that is right in front of you. It’s not relevent, especially to young children, to learn about the animals in Africa when they can just go outside and learn about the insects outside in their neighborhood. It makes it so much more real.
What is the benefit of using technology in citizen/community science?
People love technology so I feel that is one way to get people excited about citizen science because they can use some cool technology! I know that kids love using GPS and different types of apps on their phones, iNaturalist or doing a BioBlitz where they enter all kinds of information. I feel that it actually makes it so real for them. What’s real to them is technology right now. And then the other thing is that you can build those connections with so many other people, you’re part of data and when you can see that, you know I always use that you’re part of the monarch migration, I think that kids/people get a bigger picture about everything that way. I think that technology and the outdoors go hand and hand.
What are the challenges of using technology in citizen/community science?
If we are talking about children using phones, sometimes it can be tough to separate the technology that is doing the science out from the fact that they are being on their phone the whole time. They are extraordinarily independent on their phone and sometimes when we blur that line it can be kind of hard. Also all these things change so fast. Maybe, ten years ago I got a grant and got all these great GPS’s for my school and they are already kinda outdated so it can be very expensive.
Have you ever used iNaturalist? If so, how have you used it?
I’ve used it a lot both personally and professionally to identify things. I use it when doing a BioBlitz with kids. I feel like I use it all the time when I’m outside with kids. I also use field guides but they love iNaturalist and I love it too! I still do the old fashioned way of identification, there is a benefit in using a dichotomous key to get to the answer but iNaturalist allows you to input a lot of information and have a record of what you’ve been finding. I love it!
Do you have any advice for encouraging/getting people excited to partake in community/citizen science?
I would say, my advice is to even if you don’t know what you are doing, just kind of barrel forward anyway because a lot of this stuff you don’t really know until you try it. If you tell kids, "I'm not really sure, but go see what we can discover" (when answering a question regarding the outdoors) I feel they feel like they are part of the discovery then. I like going outside with not having a plan about teaching something specific but having the kids make the discovery on their own. I think lots of time people wait to have such a concrete plan and sometimes that is great but if you don’t, go for it anyway because you’ll hone into it more as you go.
Other Apps to Increase Outdoor Engagement
"Answer three simple questions about a bird you are trying to identify and Merlin will give you a list of possible matches. Merlin offers quick identification help for all levels of bird watchers to help you learn about the birds across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania."
-Merlin Bird ID website
"Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you. Earn badges for seeing different types of birds, amphibians, plants, and fungi and participate in monthly observation challenges."
-Seek website
"Your sightings contribute to hundreds of conservation decisions and peer-reviewed papers, thousands of student projects, and help inform bird research worldwide."
-eBird website
Sources
Journals:
Aristeidou, Maria, et al. “Exploring the Participation of Young Citizen Scientists in Scientific Research: The Case of Inaturalist.” PLOS ONE, vol. 16, no. 1, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245682.
Callaghan, Corey, et al. "Capitalizing on opportunistic citizen science data to monitor urban biodiversity: A multi-taxa framework." ScienceDirect, vol. 251, 2020, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320720308119.
Decker, Jessica. “How a Citizen Science App with over 70,000 Users Is Creating Local Community.” Storybench, 16 Dec. 2015, https://www.storybench.org/how-a-citizen-science-app-with-over-70000-users-is-creating-local-community/.
Irwin, Aisling. “No PhDs Needed: How Citizen Science Is Transforming Research.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 23 Oct. 2018, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07106-5.
Mesaglio, Thomas, et al. “‘First Known Photographs of Living Specimens’: The Power of Inaturalist for Recording Rare Tropical Butterflies.” Journal of Insect Conservation, vol. 25, no. 5-6, 2021, pp. 905–911., https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-021-00350-7.
Shepard, Alex. “The Latest Computer Vision Model Updates.” INaturalist, INaturalist, 12 Apr. 2022, https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/63931-the-latest-computer-vision-model-updates.
Webwatcher, and Webwatcher. “Want Your Kids to Spend More Time Outdoors? Try Inaturalist!” Webwatcher, 21 July 2021, https://www.webwatcher.com/want-your-kids-to-spend-more-time-outdoors-try-inaturalist/.
Useful Websites: