What makes a good project?

General
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Hey folks! Just wondering if there was any wisdom the collective brain of the iNaturalist forums could share regarding projects.

I’m currently the admin for a project called ‘Wildlife of Glasgow’, the purpose of which is to document animals in and around the City of Glasgow, and act as something of a spotters guide. I also hope that one day it could be a place where people share thoughts or tips about where to see wildlife around the city (e.g. this journal post).

Thing is, even though it’s got a good number of observations there aren’t many active members, and I’m keen to take the project’s usefulness up a level. In your experience:

  1. What are some really useful things that you’ve seen iNaturalist projects do or share?
  2. How do you encourage people to get stuck in and involved with a project?
  3. Do you have any other thoughts on what makes a good project?

As much as possible I want the proect to be a useful tool for any users who live in or visit Glasgow, so I thought it would be good to get the feedback of folk more experienced with iNaturalist than myself. Thanks in advance!

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I think an important part of drumming up support is telling people about the project in person, not just online. The first project I joined was Australasian Fishes; the admin, Mark McGrouther, literally gave me a small handout/info card that he printed out. He has hundreds of them that he gives to people to let them know about the project. Something tangible like that makes you more likely to engage. That project now has over 50 000 observations and has a very active user base.

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Ah, that’s a great idea! I have a few friends in the area who use iNaturalist, so maybe that would help. Thanks!

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