Guest post by Lou Skinner.
My love of the natural world began early, on walks with my dad through the forests of Quebec. As a teen, I would roll my eyes when he told me the names of wild flowers and birds but it wasn’t long before I was studying field guides and becoming absorbed by biogeography (the geographic distribution of plants and animal species).
Carol McDougal leads a GaLTT iNaturalist learning event in 2022.
During the pandemic, my new friend Carol introduced me to the wonders of iNaturalist, a website and app that helps identify and share species data. As I walked in the Gabriola forest or along the beach, my eyes would light up when I saw plants and creatures I didn’t recognize and I would take a photo with my phone and could instantly find out what I was looking at. Early on, I didn’t always share my photos to get confirmation of my ‘finds’ but over the years, I have come to see the value of being a citizen scientist and contributing to the database of biodiversity. I was surprised when I shared a photo of a purple ochre sea star and within hours, the project monitoring starfish wasting disease, added a comment to my observation.
I recently joined the team of volunteers who monitor light traps on Gabriola, to provide data for the Hakai Sentinels of Change Light Trap project that tracks Dungeness Crab populations. By taking photos of little sea critters and using iNaturalist, we were able to identify an invasive Japanese skeleton shrimp whose distribution is being followed by the department of fisheries.
All year round, island residents using iNaturalist add to our knowledge about plants and animals on Gabriola and how their populations change. Some use their cameras and capture images of birds and whales (among others), and use iNaturalist.ca to upload their data. Others, like me, just use phone cameras and the free app.
If you’re interested in learning how to use this technology, check out our iNaturalist info sheet or join us at the GaLTT field event at Descanso Bay Regional Park on Sunday, August 4, 10:30 to noon.
PS: Do you have a biology/natural history background? Even if you don’t upload observations yourself, consider joining iNaturalist to help confirm or narrow down identifications in your field of expertise.
