About
Citizen science helps community members learn about nature and contribute observations that researchers can use to study biodiversity, bird migration and environmental change. MNBC can also use shared observations to better understand which plants and animals Citizens are seeing on the land and inform future environmental initiatives.
Who It Is For
MNBC Citizens and other nature lovers who want to identify plants, fungi, animals, or birds and contribute observations through citizen science apps.
Contact
Related Ministry
Resources
iNaturalist
The iNaturalist organization has developed one of the world’s most popular nature apps for identifying observations of plants, fungi, and animals. You can use the iNaturalist app to add pictures of organisms you encounter. The pictures you upload become a part of a global database that maps out where all these species live and helps scientists understand biodiversity and changes happening in various ecosystems worldwide!
iNaturalist uses their own AI to identify the organism in the uploaded image. Then, other citizen scientists using the app will confirm if the AI’s identification is correct. Once at least two people agree on the identification, the observation is considered “Research Grade” and can be used for scientific research. The sharing of observations and knowledge builds a community of citizen scientists.
Share your observations with us!
If you are interested in joining MNBC’s Citizen Science Project, follow these steps:
- Create an iNaturalist account
- Email your iNaturalist username to environment@mnbc.ca
- Join MNBC’s Citizen Science Project
Bird Identification Apps
Learn how to level up your bird identifying skills and become a citizen scientist! Use the Merlin ID app to identify birds, then use eBird to upload your observations and track what you observe. By uploading your observation checklist to eBird, you’re contributing to global research on bird populations and changes in migratory routes.
Once you make an account with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, you can download both the eBird and Merlin apps on your phone or print out a checklist for your walk and upload it to the eBird website once you’re back. Read below for more information on the two apps.
Merlin ID:
- A bird identification guide
- Offers step-by-step identification, sound identification, and photo identification
- Provides species-specific information
eBird:
- Keeps track of your bird checklists, photos, and sounds
- Helps you find specific bird species and bird hotspots
- Uploading your checklists contributes to science and bird conservation
Share your eBird checklists with us!
Add our eBird username (MNBC_Environment) or our email (environment@mnbc.ca) to your checklist and hit share! Note that you will need to individually share each checklist with us. If you can’t find the share button, it will show up when you click “Add second observer to the checklist”.