Identify local wildlife and aid research with the iNaturalist app

Capture photos of wild plants and animals, identify species you come across and contribute to biodiversity and conservation research, suggests Layal Liverpool

By Layal Liverpool

ONE of my New Year’s resolutions was to spend more time outdoors, in nature. Inevitably, there are apps for that, and the one I decided to try allows me to contribute to scientific research.

The iNaturalist smartphone app lets you photograph wild plants and animals and, aided by the app’s user community, identify species you find. Biodiversity and conservation scientists can access and analyse photographs the app deems to be “research grade”.

You can also use iNaturalist to find online nature groups or citizen science projects in your area so you can contribute photos and data directly to them too. …