Ever seen a weird creature and wanted to know more about it?
iNaturalist is a citizen science project and online social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe. The iNaturalist platform is supported by the California Academy of Sciences based in San Francisco. New Zealand has its own version of the iNaturalist platform called iNaturalist NZ — Mātaki Taiao. Our local version is run by the New Zealand Bio-Recording Network (NZBRN), a charitable trust led by a team of NZ ecologists and biodiversity IT professionals.
Our local version provides a Kiwi window into iNaturalist that shows just the New Zealand observations. That way your fantails and totara observations don’t get lost in a flood of squirrels and bald eagles!
You can upload photos of any organism from the mobile app (or from your digital camera onto the website) and you’ll be connected with experts who can help to identify what you’ve seen.
Heres a quick overview of how to use iNaturalist.
Image used with permission. Thanks Jon!
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