iNaturalist and the NCC's Bioblitz

I've signed on to the NCC's (Nature Conservancy of Canada's) week-long Backyard Bioblitz which involves seeing as many different species of plants, animals, birds, insects and so on as you can during a one-week period, It started on Monday and hundreds of people across Canada are taking part. I'm finding that it's really interesting even though I'm very limited in what I can see from my wheelchair.

In order to participate you have to download and use the iNaturalist app on your phone.  I figure this is another step in expanding my electronic literacy too; I don't want to fall TOO far behind the millenial generation.  The iNaturalist app lets you take a picture of what you're seeing, helps you identify it, and keeps track of what you've seen.  Your observations get submitted automatically to an enormous international database of observations, with appropriate quality control   Currently over one million people are using the app, and it's accumulated over 40 million observations.

This is the starting screen for the app, simply listing the species you've identified so far.  I had to load the app on the ipad in order to use my phone to take a picture.  It looks a lot smaller on the phone, and I'm not carrying my ipad around to take pictures! There are a number of screens you can go to from there.

The main screen is the observation screen, where you can take a picture or use a picture from your phone's files.  Once you do that it goes to a screen with the details, like species, location, whether it's cultivated or wild and what projects, if any, you're part of.  At the moment my observations get automatically sent to NCC's Bioblitz.

The interesting part is the help it gives you with naming the species.  It brings up a list of suggestions so you can pick one.  For each suggestion detailed descriptions are available, so you can check these if you're unsure.  You do have to work a little, because the top suggestion is not always the right one.  In fact, in a couple of cases none of their top 10 suggestions have been right.  Luckily I know enough about plant and animal species to know what I'm photographing anyway.

The app gives you a number of other screens to help.  On this map of the area where we live, the green tear-drops represent submitted observations - green for plants, red for insects and blue for birds and animals.  Those green teardrops on Nelson St. West and those on the golf course are my observations (location is not always super accurate at the local scale).

I'm finding this an interesting challenge to add to my excursions, even though they are short and local.  It makes you feel part of something bigger in the broader community, it draws on past skills I've developed, and it keeps me sharp, both in species identification and online literacy.  So I'm really enjoying it even though this is only my second day using it.

The Camino de Santiago challenge which requires me to ride the equivalent distance of the Camino pilgrimage is a little similar, though I'm wondering if I've bitten off an unrealistic goal.  I've accumulated over 70 km. so far, but at this rate I'm not sure if I'll even be finished the total 780 km. by the end of next year!  And it's pretty passive, simply entering the km. you've ridden each day.  Still it is challenging me.

I've also entered the Meaford Hospital 5k Run/Walk for September.  It's virtual this year, so I just have to cover that distance one day in September and let them know.  Of course I'm supposed to find sponsors and raise money for them too, but I've hardly started that part.  They also have a prize for the most accumulated km. over 19 days starting Sept. 1st, so I'm going to keep track of that too.  

All of these things are keeping me busy and making life more interesting.  I also stopped in and renewed my library card this morning so I'm ready the first day the new totally accessible library opens.  I can't wait to be able to get into the stacks and choose books from my favourite authors!  I just wish they'd have a built-in coffee shop.