Hello guys, I take my hobby of inaturalist (and wildlife photography) very seriously and I like to discuss my contributions to inaturalist with friends and family but I struggle to explain what inaturalist is to friends and family without using too much technical knowledge. How would you explain inaturalist to a person who wouldn’t even know what a robin is (someone who knows next to nothing about wildlife)
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this post and the rest of the thread sort of get at what you’re wanting, i think: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/intro-to-inaturalist-3-minute-overview/31079/5.
in a few words:
- it’s an app / website
- it’s the data
- it’s the community
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Check the text in the app store.
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Your bee and mallard pics repository.
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It’s a worldwide database of nature observations.
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“It’s basically a collection space for observations of nature, which are then verified – or sorted and identified – by community scientists and specialists from all over the world and when deemed appropriate often used to further understanding of some aspect of nature. My role is __________.”
I (a total amateur) run in extremely non-scientific circles and this at least is how I explain when I get surprisingly excited about a bug in the house. Then I show them the app on my phone.
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hmm… i’d probably say something like “it’s a place to get identifications for species as well as connect with a community of nature-lovers”
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It is an app and site for people to document seeing a certain organic thing at a certain time and place.
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… look at this ‘pretty picture’ on my phone …
Better if you are out there with them while taking the picture … of that bird over there.
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Often, I say “I contribute images of wildlife and plants for identification and to provide
biodiversity data for researchers.”
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It’s your personal field notebook of living nature observations, shared interactively with the world.
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Pokemon snap (but in real life!)
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You’ll learn a lot about wildlife! And the more you learn, the more you’ll realise that you still know next to nothing about wildlife.
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Animal voyeurism and logging that would get you arrested for stalking if they were human.
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In addition to the replies already made… it’s a way of making a collection without having to store specimens of plants or animals. It’s a way of being in nature getting big doses of vitamin N, which we all need.
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“Someone who knows next to nothing about wildlife” is , I think, not likely to want to know much about it…but, IF they are interested, I’d tell them iNaturalist is an app which is a GREAT HELP in learning what creature it is we’ve seen, and to learn more about it if we wish.
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I spend a lot of time promoting iNaturalist to the public and I often try to sum it up in three sentences.
"You can upload pictures or audio of birds, bugs, flowers, fish, mushrooms and more!
A fancy computer algorithm can help tell you what species you’re looking at, but other users will look at what you’ve posted to help ID, too.
Once a couple people agree what species it is, that data then becomes available for researchers to use to learn more about that species :) "
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It’s a place where people upload their nature observations, sort of like a crowdsourced study on where everything lives. Once something is uploaded, other users can see the observation and can help identify it.
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A geodatabase of living beings where data are contributed by citizens.
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It’s a global database for observations of any and every type of organism on Earth, using photographs that are accompanied by location and date information, and that is supported by a broad community of biologists and naturalists who provide identifications. It’s also a teaching tool to learn about these organisms.
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