Want to contribute to the biodiversity knowledge of our province, or are just curious about the organisms (plants, animals, insects, fungi) surrounding you? Consider signing up to iNaturalist and joining this helpful and fun community of like-minded people!
With iNaturalist you can submit photos and locations of species you observe in nature, and other users can verify or help figure out what that creature in the photo is. The SKCDC, along with other organizations and scientists, can then use these observations to understand where organisms occur across the globe.
Create an Account
Visit iNaturalist.ca to learn more about how it works and when you're ready, click the sign up link. Fill in the form with your information, or sign in using your existing Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Google, Yahoo or SoundCloud accounts.
Join Our SKCDC and iMapInvasives Projects
On the top navigation bar, Click on "Community" and under the sub-menu select "Projects”. In the search bar type "Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre" or "iMapInvasives Saskatchewan". This will bring up these Saskatchewan Projects. These are just two of many Projects you can join in the iNaturalist world, try typing in "Saskatchewan" to see some of the other projects set up nearby!
Select the project name to go to the project page. Click “Join this Project” in the top right hand corner, and follow the steps as prompted. Make sure to make private/obscured observation coordinates visible to project curators by selecting "Yes, no matter who adds the observation to the project". This way, your suitable observations can automatically be added to the project without you having to lift a finger! Alternatively, you can choose "Yes, but only if I add the observation to the project myself" if you only wish to add certain observations yourself. If you check "No", we will not be able to use your observations.
Once you have joined the project, it will show up under the “Projects” section of your dashboard whenever you are logged in.
Now, when you make an observation, you will be able to add it to one of your projects. You can also add old observations to projects by viewing the observation and using the "Add to project" link.
Using the Mobile Application
Download the iNaturalist app for your mobile device on
Google Play or the Apple Store, and login to your iNaturalist account. It's completely free!
It is strongly suggested that photos be taken. Photo Tips: get close and be in-focus. Especially with plants or invertebrates, one photo alone is not always enough to identify it - take multiple close-ups of different features as well as the whole organism. View this tutorial on How to Take Better Photos for iNaturalist, and always remember to be respectful of the organism you are photographing and be careful not to damage or disturb them.
Try and identify your organism with the "What did you see?" tool. As you begin typing the organism’s name, iNaturalist will offer suggestions – make sure to select from one of the options it brings up. If iNaturalist does not bring up the species you are trying to identify check for recent synonyms as iNaturalist may be using a different taxonomy than you are currently using. Or, type in a generic name, upload it and let the iNaturalist community help you identify it.
Type in any comments in the "Notes" field, such as how many you saw, what it was doing or a description of the habitat.
The date, time, and location are automatically filled in from the information stored in your photo. If you are using a camera without GPS, you will need to provide the location - try to zoom in and be as accurate as possible when using the map. You can always upload photos from your mobile device to get the location and add in more photos from your camera and desktop later, or check out this tutorial for using a GPS track file.
GeoPrivacy is automatically set to "Open" (if you want to obscure the location or keep the location private change the setting).
Captive/Cultivated is set to "No" by default; if the organism is captive (i.e., zoo) or cultivated (i.e. purposefully being grown) choose "Yes".
WARNING: DO NOT sign out of the Mobile Application until you upload your observations otherwise the information will be lost.
More Information
iNaturalist Canada is run by the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in collaboration with iNaturalist.org at the California Academy of Sciences. Partners include Parks Canada, NatureServe Canada and Hinterland Who's Who.
For help using iNaturalist, visit iNaturalist's Help / Assistance page.
