iNaturalist Junkies & Assorted Nature Nerds

[TIPSYwithWATER (Odynne)]

Hey, NF Community!

 

Just wondering if there are any other iNaturalist addicts and/or other assorted nature nerds (hikers, photographers, explorers, citizen scientists, professional scientists) who would like to share here! "Nature stalking," as I like to call it, has really helped me connect with my surroundings, get outside more, log more hikes, explore new places, and learn so much about the creatures we share the environment with! If anyone is interested, jump on in! If you have questions about getting more outdoorsy, please feel free to shout those out, too!

 

To kick this off, I wanted to share a few of my iNat pics (I'm personally very fond of bees!) and a few resources.

• iNaturalist - upload observations of living creatures to help with data collection and analysis, and use an amazing AI system to identify your photograph! (available on desktop, iPhone, and Android) * More info in my conversation with @InnerFire, below.
• QuestaGame - individuals and teams photograph and identify living organisms for points (similar to iNaturalist, but made into a game)
• SciStarter - Citizen Scientist project center
• Geocaching - outdoor treasure hunting (yes, really!)
• World Wildlife Fund Panda Ambassadors - WWF volunteering

 

What else should I add to this list??

 

- Odynne (TIPSYwithWATER)  

 

BEE SPECIES PICTURED: Perplexing Bumble Bee, Common Eastern Bumble Bee, Eastern Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Western Honey Bee

[InnerFire]

Hello Odynne

 

I never heard of iNaturalist before now -- but your overall description definitely has me intrigued!  I'd like to learn more about it -- I'm definitely a forest junkie and I love science, biology, whole foods, plants, animals, etc., etc, etc. I'm not a professional scientist by any means -- I just love the natural world, and I have lupus and fibro, so I am naturally allergic to synthetics and anything chemical.  Fill me in, please  :) 

[TIPSYwithWATER (Odynne)]

31 minutes ago, InnerFire said:

Hello Odynne

 

I never heard of iNaturalist before now -- but your overall description definitely has me intrigued!  I'd like to learn more about it -- I'm definitely a forest junkie and I love science, biology, whole foods, plants, animals, etc., etc, etc. I'm not a professional scientist by any means -- I just love the natural world, and I have lupus and fibro, so I am naturally allergic to synthetics and anything chemical.  Fill me in, please  

 

Hi, InnerFire!

 

Sounds like we're kindred spirits-- I'm so glad to have piqued your interest! 

 

iNaturalist is a program (accessible on mobile and desktop) that allows users to photograph any living organism from anywhere on Earth and upload it to a collective data system. This data is used for various purposes by different projects and organizations, for anything from studying the relationships between pollinators and plants, watching avian migration patterns, looking at the spread of invasive species, and etc.

 

However, the most direct use of the data is to train the AI that the app uses to recognize a creature when you submit its picture. When you upload an image, the AI system will suggest an identification (it's not always able to and occasionally makes mistakes, but it is startlingly accurate the vast majority of the time), and give you a link to more information about the species, which is super fun and helps you learn a lot about your local wildlife in the process. When you choose an ID for the image and one or more other members in the community choose the same ID, the observation then becomes "research grade," and adds to the collective body of knowledge used by the application. So it's teaching you, while you're teaching it!

 

It's a pretty simple (and free) app that I get a ton of value out of-- It's given me a whole new appreciation for the outdoors and makes me feel good to contribute to this shared knowledge as a "citizen scientist!" The community is also, by and large, very nice and helpful. It's not an overly social network from what I've experienced (still sort of new to it, though), but there are ways to connect with people and make use of their knowledge and experience.

 

Additional links:

• Sign-up: iNaturalist website | iNaturalist for iPhone | iNaturalist for Android
• Guides: iNaturalist User Guide | iNaturalist Video Tutorials

[Ekelove]

Hello, This is my first post on this form
I was really glad to learn about the inaturalist and questagame. will be checking them out and use them in conjunction with geocaching and for going on adventures with my kids in the local area  

I love the outdoors and spend a good deal of time foraging for mood and medicinal plants when the seasons is appropriate

 

[ladymorella]

Yes, bess are awesome. I have never heard of the Questagame I will have to look into it. 

 

I just found out about iNaturalist this weekend! It was mentioned in a native bee webinar. I have to say I REALLY hope one of the things that sticks from COVID-19 is the importance/advantages of webinars and virtual events. In person is great in a lot of ways, but not always feasible when trying to hit a small target group. /rant The webinar was actually for a neighboring county so there is no way I would have made it.

 

I haven't had time to go through all the instructions yet. When people submit an ID what is the expectation? Like do I look up the blode desert tarantula and go yep, that is it!! Or if am not sure can others confirm it? 

 

I love insects. My grandmother's house had a unique amount of insects and had plenty of lizards so quite a few family memebers have memories of searching for bugs and such in her yard. I guess it just stuck. Then in 7th grade we had an arthopod unit and it was awesome and required a bug collection. Like my dream job would be something I would call a "wild insect photographer" haha. Like how epic would it be to fly to other places to go on a hike for a hope of photographing the rare insect x? This job probably doesn't exist, but it is a dream job so why can't I include my love of hiking and camping into it?

 

I am sort of thinking about starting to save a little money every time I get over time to buy a macro lens. I rented one and it was so awesome.