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Besides iNaturalist and Seek, there are several other apps you can use in your classroom to support your students learning about the world around them. We know these connections matter when creating pro-environmental behaviors and kids love to be outside! How many of these have you tried?
eBIrd was developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and allows visitors to upload sightings and to use the app for identification with pictures or sounds
This app includes common houseplants as well as plants you might find outside. This can be useful for people who are trying to learn more about cultivated plants because iNaturalist asks users to upload plants and animals they find in the wild.
This app allows you to identify plants based on photos you take on your phone. It also includes a plant blog and other information that might help your students search and learn more about what they are seeing.
Additionally, if you are trying to connect your students to the local plants and animals around them. I suggest that you find what other organizations are near you that might include tracking data or other useful information. Here are some links to local organizations in California. If you live in a different area, what might you have available?
This is one of my favorite sites. It helps teachers to connect with California State Parks for both virtual and blended field trips. The resources are amazing and your students will be able to learn more about so many different areas of California from the naturalists and interpreters in the state parks.
Photo from https://www.ports-ca.us/
The California Naturalist program is supported by the University of California system. They support courses throughout California to provide continuing education and to increase the resources of people who are working and volunteering in our local areas. If you are interested in increasing your own knowledge of California, this can be a great course to take!
Photo from https://calnat.ucanr.edu/
The Bay Area Puma project (map below) is an example of a local organization collecting data in a location that you could use as a resource for your students.
Photo from https://bapp.org/
This site connects visitors with all the local nature preserves in the Bay Area. There are maps as well as places to sign up for docent led hikes and experiences (family friendly, with dogs, on bikes, etc) There are also links for you to sign up for support if you want to have support or a docent for a class field trip you would like to bring.
Photo from https://www.openspace.org/
SNAPSHOT: PORTS (Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students) program!
Screenshot from PORTS youtube channel, from https://www.ports-ca.us/digital-content-library
PORTs brings park rangers and naturalists into your classroom live to talk to your students. They also have VR 360 degree tours of the Coast Redwood Canopy and scuba diving at Point Lobos in Monterey.
These programs will allow your students to access wild spaces all around California even if you cannot go to them physically on a field trip. Maybe this will inspire all of you to get out there and explore!
SNAPSHOT: Sighting map from the Bay Area Puma Project
This map is useful for students who might like to learn more about this charismatic and elusive creature.
It is dramatic to see where actual sightings of puma and bobcat have been and it has a way for people to upload photos and data from home security systems such as ring cameras to contribute to research and data collection.
Source: (http://www.bapp.org/puma-sighting-map)
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