Goal: We want to catalog everything living in our backyard (Center Hill Preserve) - and with the iNaturalist app everyone - dog walkers, beachcombers, families out for a walk, and even scientists can immediately transform what they see into data we can use!
Ages: Any! We even have ‘bingo’ cards that young explorers can use to find and identify some of our more common species.
What would I do?: Download the free iNaturalist app to your smartphone and create an account. Then, come to the Center Hill Preserve as often as you like, for any reason, and take photos or record sounds of all of the organisms that you see - plants, animals, birds, insects, fungi, everything! When you upload these observations to the iNaturalist app they are automatically added to our “The Natural Communities of Center Hill Preserve” project.
Why is it important?: In order to more fully understand the dynamic nature of the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens, we need a clearer understanding as to which species are present, where, and when. Citizen Scientists participating in iNaturalist data gathering will allow us to generate far more data than scientists can do on their own.
Who can I contact to get involved?: Use the interest form here or contact Frank Mand at [email protected]