Citizen Science
Getting the community involved in science and monitoring through citizen science
iNaturalist
iNaturalist is one of the citizen science programs that MOUA is most heavily involved in.
iNaturalist is a global community science platform and mobile app, aiming to connect people to nature and advance science and conservation. It allows users to photograph, record, and identify living things, acting as a crowdsourced species identifier and an interactive social network for nature enthusiasts. Local nature observations feed into a global dataset, which contributes to our collective knowledge on species, and can inform conservation and management.
It is easy to use, and requires only a mobile phone (or computer), with the platform available as an app or online via their webpage.
how to use iNaturalist
To submit observations, you simply take a photo of an organism (animal, plant, fungi - you name it), enter the date, time and location the photo was taken, along with a guess of the species name (or higher taxonomic grouping), aided by iNaturalist’s learning model.
This will then be peer-reviewed by experts on iNaturalist, who will either confirm, clarify or correct your identification.
From a smartphone
With a camera / underwater camera
iNaturalist ambassador program
iNaturalist has an Ambassador Program that’s open to anyone at least 18 years old, with some experience on iNaturalist, and able to communicate in English
It aims to train and support passionate community members in becoming advocates for iNaturalist, as well as citizen science more broadly.
We are pleased to announce that MOUA Director Dr Adam Smith and Executive Officer Sarah Hodgson, along with Rachelle Brown from Reef Check Australia, have recently been recognised as iNaturalist Ambassadors.
Sarah is available to talk to schools and community groups about citizen science, and run field trips, contact at office@moua.com.au to discuss the possibility.