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Become A Citizen Scientist

Do you ever see a plant or animal and wonder what it is?  Or have you ever wondered what species live in our region?

Well…there’s an app for that.  iNaturalist is a citizen science smart phone app that allows anyone to snap a photo and upload it.  Then biologists and naturalists see the photo and identify it. It also helps them document the location of where these species have been located.

Using this app, we created the Escondido Creek Watershed iNaturalist Project…and it’s now online.  You can see the project homepage and the map of our watershed by clicking here.  Whenever someone photographs any flora or fauna within the boundaries of our watershed using the app, it will be added to our map.

We already have more than 7,600 observations and 1,357 species identified in the watershed!  You can see which species have already been observed by clicking here.  Check it out!

This is a powerful tool that helps biologists and conservation land managers keep track of species in the area.  So please download the app and get snapping. Just remember to stay on public land and don’t venture off trail so that our nature reserves can stay protected for wildlife.  We also plan to use this app to conduct bio-blitzes in the near future. We’ll keep you posted about that.

If you are interested in the app but aren’t tech savvy, we’ve got you covered.  We offer a free iNaturalist introductory workshop on the first Saturday of every month to help newbies create an account and learn the basics.  The next workshop is September 1st, 10:00-noon at the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve.