iNaturalist is a free citizen science initiative created by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. This user-friendly educational and/or recreational tool has been used by citizen scientists across the world to learn, share, and connect with other nature-seekers, while providing valuable documentation of the biodiversity in an area.

The Boreal Wetland Centre

iNaturalist Group Goals

  •  Promote, engage and encourage people to discover the diversity of fauna, flora and wetlands on the Boreal Wetland Centre grounds at Evergreen Park by capturing their sightings through the iNaturalist app.

  • Encourage the public to become citizen scientists by using the iNaturalist app to document vegetation, wildlife and landscape-level changes over time at the Boreal Wetland Centre.

  • Create opportunities to learn more about boreal wetlands and wildlife, visit our interpretive signs and trail, and explore our demonstration centre of active projects at the Boreal Wetland Centre.

  • iNaturalist participants will be a part of a virtual community of nature enthusiasts interested in boreal ecosystems – all skill levels are welcome!

BENEFITS OF THE APP

Ever wonder how scientists know that a mammal’s habitat range is expanding or contracting, or that the sighting of a hawfinch in the Yukon was the first on record? It is because of people like you who want to document what you see and share it with a community, that it is possible for your valuable contributions to play a part in establishing a baseline understanding of where species are present and how that changes over time. At the Boreal Wetland Centre, we have a diversity of boreal wetlands, plants and animals for you to capture that naturalist curiosity as you also help us document changes over time.

Citizen science mobile apps are increasingly popular, and you may already be familiar with websites or apps such as eBird or Naturelynx that have been widely used to collect biodiversity observations. We encourage you to continue using these tools, but to also try out the iNaturalist mobile app the next time you visit the Boreal Wetland Centre. We have chosen to use iNaturalist as the primary tool for collecting and submitting biodiversity observations for the Boreal Wetland Centre due to it’s project (group) function that serves as a collection point for all the biodiversity data at the site. Also, iNaturalist is integrated with the myDUC app, which guides users to DUC destinations to collect biodiversity data and offers incentives through prizes. Downloading and using NatureLynx on your mobile device will give you access to the Wetland Centre at Evergreen park group and we are looking forward to your contributions!

GETTING TO THE BOREAL WETLAND CENTRE

If you’ve read this far, sounds like the next question you may have is “how do I participate so that I can take pictures of sightings at the Boreal Wetland Centre?" We welcome all submissions of either wildlife or plant species at the Boreal Wetland Centre, but first here’s how to get to our Interpretive Trail.

  1. Drive to the Evergreen Learning and Innovation Centre located in Grande Prairie County, AB

  2. At the entrance to the Evergreen Learning and Innovation Centre there will be a map showing you where the trail system on the grounds are located

  3. Enjoy, be safe, and we hope you’ll consider coming back!

HOW TO SUBMIT AN IMAGE

To submit an image, remember you don’t need to be an expert or be 100% sure of what you are looking at. It is the job of the experts at iNaturalist to identify what you have submitted. Be curious, take pictures, and submit your sightings on the app!

For step-by-step instructions on how to submit a sighting, detailed instructions as well as video tutorials can be found here. If you’re keen and want to learn even more about the iNaturalist app, click here! Whether you’re an Android or Apple user, iNaturalist will work on your device.