Continuing our series highlighting different community science programs, May is a great time to learn about using iNaturalist. This is a database where you can submit sightings of any living things! iNaturalist is “an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature.”
You can contribute via the web or the iNaturalist app, where you note what you saw, when, and where. One unique aspect of iNaturalist is that there is community involvement to verify submissions, so even if you can’t go out collecting data yourself, you can also help ‘confirm’ what others are seeing.
We are hosting an online workshop to teach you the basics of using iNaturalist and contributing your sightings to various projects happening here in Maine, on Tuesday, May 12, at 6:30 pm. The event is free (donations appreciated); you’ll need to register to get the Zoom link, here >
After the online training, we have in-person opportunities to help you test out the app and offer hands-on assistance:
May 13, 4-5:30 pm at Gilsland Farm (Falmouth)
May 15, 4-5 pm at Fields Pond (Holden)
We will focus on using the latest iNaturalist app (available on iOS and Android) but you can find a video we made on using what is now called “iNaturalist Classic” here:
