This weekend, the National Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is hosting their Big Backyard BioBlitz from July 29th to August 2nd. This event is all about finding wild plants, animals or insects outside—anywhere from your backyard to a hiking trail—taking pictures and helping identify their species on the free iNaturalist app.
Steps:
- Take a photo of a plant, animal, or insect
- Upload the picture to the app
- Log the location
- Select a matching species from the app’s suggestions
iNaturalist generates suggestions using Artificial Intelligence (AI), matching your picture with similar-looking species. Experts will later review any submitted images and verify the species.
This form of data collection is known as “Citizen Science” and is extremely valuable because the public has more eyes and ears on the ground than our scientists do. Collectively, we can gather a massive dataset that helps scientists track native, invasive and at-risk populations all across Canada.
This event is for the whole family, so head outside this weekend, grab your phone and take some pictures!
Register for the Big Backyard BioBlitz here!
Get the iNaturalist App:
Article photos: Green Ottawa
Green Ottawa 