INaturalist was recommended to me to help show the environmental sensitivity of our community that is under urban sprawl development pressure. I had been keeping a spreadsheet for a wildlife documentation log, which is obviously time consuming, when someone recommended iNaturalist. It looks like a great way to demonstrate to the county commission and Florida wildlife commission (which have both told me that there’s not wildlife in the area) the importance of protecting this land. I thought making it a project may work best so I started one. We are located between 3 parks, only 2 of which are listed to choose on location when making the project, but there are many other areas between those sectioned off areas that should be included in the project location. Would anyone be able to help guide me to what is the best way to go about this? Is this even the best approach for this type of situation?
Welcome to the forum!
Have a look at this article, and the associated iNatHelp pages that explain more about projects on iNaturalist: https://help.inaturalist.org/en/support/solutions/articles/151000176472-understanding-projects-on-inaturalist
It contains this quote:
Before you decide to create a project, we recommend you spend several weeks or months using iNaturalist and becoming an active member of the community by regularly adding IDs, comments, and observations - those are the core aspects of iNaturalist. You should be very familiar with iNaturalist before creating a project.
This is not meant to discourage you, as you will get a lot of great advice here! Just something to keep in mind.
We have a very active and helpful forum member in Florida named @cs16-levi. Levi might have some tips as well.
It sounds like you will need to upload your own place if one does not exist already for the area you are investigating (you can search here or find encompassing places). To make a new place, you will have to be an actively contributing iNat observer, and you will need a KML file (you can create one on OpenStreetMap or a GIS software if one doesn’t already exist).
I did read that and it didn’t discourage me but I wasn’t sure if I could still use the information to help with the FWC on this pressing urban expansion. And the location I’d need doesn’t seem to show up as an option so I didn’t know how to add expanded areas?
Hey! Interesting discussion. Based on the current provided info, I think this topic is sufficiently covered. However, if the OP has any further questions after adding the locations, and would like more help in regards to biodiversity, I’d be happy to help out. I will note that dealing with urban sprawl is a lifetime process in Florida; cutting your losses and knowing when to focus on somewhere else is key. While saying “there’s not wildlife in the area” is a degenerate comment, some areas are more in need of help than others.