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iNaturalist presentation to Master Naturalists
- 1. iNaturalist – adding data and learning in the process How to train the next generation of naturalists Sam Kieschnick Nature Education Specialist City of Mansfield Parks and Recreation
- 2. Why are you a naturalist?
- 3. Most common question… “The first step in wisdom is to know the things themselves." Carolus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae (1735)
- 5. What if…
- 6. Now is a great time to be a naturalist Josh Tewksbury, Professor of Natural History, University of Washington www.naturalhistoriesproject.org
- 7. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, etc.. This is part of our culture now… Social networks
- 9. Technology needs to be a hook
- 10. Enter: iNaturalist “Documenting biodiversity and distribution of species through time and space with evidence.” Started 2008; now around 70,000 users with 1.5 million observations Projects, guides, journal entries, species distribution maps..
- 11. iNaturalist’s unit is an observation What, When, Where, Evidence = Data
- 12. Website: www.iNaturalist.org Brief “how to…”
- 13. Create a profile! Who are you?!? Brief “how to…”
- 14. Adding observations... Brief “how to…”
- 15. Adding observations... Brief “how to…”What did you see?
- 16. Adding observations... Brief “how to…”When did you see it?
- 17. Adding observations... Brief “how to…”Where were you?
- 18. Adding observations... Brief “how to…”Prove it! Show me.
- 19. Projects, guides, life lists, journals, hot spots of diversity Benefits of being part of iNaturalist
- 20. 1. LEARN A LOT.
- 21. 2. Giving others guidance
- 22. 3. Live vicariously through adventures
- 23.
- 24. 3. Live vicariously through adventures
- 25. 4. Interact with experts
- 26. 5. Being part of the “big picture”
- 27. 5. Being part of the “big picture”
- 28. 6. We share this planet…
- 30. 1. I’m no expert! I don’t want to look like a dummy!
- 34. 4. My photographs aren’t good enough…
- 35. Purslane 5. Wait, what do you call that? pigweed, little hogweed, red root, pursley, moss rose, verdolaga, pourpeir , ‘akulikuli Portulaca oleracea
- 36. 6. When is someone going to ID this?!? Come on!!!
- 37. 7. Change, change, change…
- 38. 8. Time flies…
- 39. Why are you a naturalist?
- 40. How to change the world…
- 41. You get out what you put in... Participation is needed too – welcome other naturalists Participation is worth it.
- 42. Next generation of naturalists We share our knowledge and our interest It is our responsibility, duty, and privilege to share this with others
- 43. Encourage you to give iNat a try! Chuck Silcox Park, October 3, 8:30 – 11 am Andy Keeble in charge BioBlitz at Oliver Nature Park, October 10, 9 – 11 am Snacks and drinks provided Bring a camera, smart phone, or iPad Want to practice?
- 44. Sam Kieschnick sam.kieschnick@mansfieldtexas.gov sambiology on iNaturalist!
Editor's Notes
- Little bit of my background – graduated Aledo, went to Weatherford College, Undergrad and Masters at Tarleton studying gopher genetics, taught at Weatherford College (biology, botany, zoology), worked at Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth Nature Center, and now City of Mansfield…
- Why are you a naturalist? Raise your hand if you call yourself a naturalist… Raise your hand if you like or enjoy nature – if you did this, I would call you a naturalist. Overall question to be thinking of during this presentation – why are you a naturalist???
- Most common question… Lucky to have a job where I can be a naturalist for a profession! “Lucky bastard” as Andy Keeble calls me. I lead several nature walks and programs… Had one this morning with 18 homeschool kiddos Most common question on a nature walk – “what is that?!?” “The first step in wisdom is to know the things themselves" Carolus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae (1735).
- Growing up… Growing up, my parents nourished this love of being outside, catching bugs, exploring… Use field guides to address that question – one of my first field guides that I used a BUNCH – Audobon insect, bird guide
- What if… But what if each time when that question was asked, or when you found out what something was, you could share that bit of data with the rest of the world (I’ll get into the “maybe I don’t want to share that…” later on) - your dot on the map adds to the global understanding of that species
- Now is a great time to be a naturalist: - growth of citizen science… Josh Tewksbury, university of Washington, professor of natural history, ecology, conservation biology http://naturalhistoriesproject.org/conversations/an-exciting-time-to-be-a-naturalist
- Social networks… The rise of the social network – facebook is now part of our vocabulary - facebook used to be more about relationships, now it’s kinda a sharing viral videos with friends - Do you have facebook? Even if you don’t, you KNOW what facebook is… Guarantee you know more people that have facebook accounts than are not on facebook… Slow down – isn’t that the problem? Aren’t people living too much in a digital reality? Isn’t technology keeping people from going outside?
- Nature deficit disorder Technology and nature – nature deficit disorder – children (and adults) glued to screen - technology isn’t going anywhere… As naturalists, we need to adapt to the technology!
- Technology needs to be the hook Nature field guides used by the next generation of naturalists will involve changing technology! - “page turner” being replaced with “page clicker” – field guide will be on smart phone/tablets - nature education needs to use technology as a hook rather than something to fear…
- Enter: iNaturalist “Documenting biodiversity and distribution of species through time and space with evidence (photo/sound)” - Similar networks: bugguide, ebird, project noah History of this network - 2008 project at UC Berkeley – Ken-ichi Ueda, et al. - went through various changes in appearance Current status at California Academy of Sciences - 70,000+ users - 1.5 million+ observations across every continent - projects, guides, journals, species distribution maps
- iNaturalist’s unit is an observation… It is just like a collection or museum of observations I was so lucky to be a part of BRIT (herbarium) where I became passionate about “collections.” Each observation acts like a voucher, shows some organism at some point in time at some place - what, when, where = data. - Differences between museum/herbarium specimens and iNaturalist observations… 1. physical specimen can be held in museum/herbarium 2. more accurate measurements in museum/herbarium – ruler and specimen in hand 3. museum/herbarium is not accessible to public… iNaturalist IS! 4. public not really invited in the museum/herbarium… Public necessary in iNat 5. digital collection more conservation-based (no/little harm to organisms being observed)
- BRIEF how to join and add observations *show in slides* -- 3 or 4 - website is what you should use first – to get comfortable… - set up profile (username, password, profile) - add observation, edit time, and location, - scroll through projects and join projects – add observations to projects *handout on how to join iNaturalist with more details… - app – mobile devices – data collection device! - photos with phones are getting pretty good (and will get better)
- 1. LEARN A LOT. - I have learned a tremendous amount in the past year just through iNat -- iNaturalist is a training tool. - ever wonder what that weird plant is that keeps popping up in the yard? “ID please…” - build up your confidence as a naturalist.
- 2. Giving others guidance - ability to help out others – welcoming them and giving guidance - help others with their “ID please’s…” - you know more than you think you know!
- 3. Live vicariously through adventures - observations in New Zealand or Costa Rica - enforces the value (intrinsic and real) of biodiversity - Show Mark’s deep see dives, show Scott Loarie’s adventures in Madagascar
- 4. Interact with experts - Greg Lasley, Chuck Sexton, RJ Adams, John Abbott, Susan Hewitt, Jason Singhurst, etc…
- 5. Being part of the “big picture” - add data to the big picture – we contribute to something bigger than ourselves. - your single observation feeds the scientific body – this can change policy or document climate change
- 6. We share this planet… - Realize we share the planet with LOTS of species… - I’m actually seeing this by being a part of iNaturalist… Not just with the species around me, but around others too - one of my goals to observe something every day – easy because we interact with nature daily!
- 1. I’m no expert! I don’t want to look like a dummy! - saving an observation as “something” or “plant” - we all learn as we go – me starting out with dragonflies… Everything was either “dragonfly” or “damselfly.”
- 2. Privacy concerns - (personal safety) – data is available for all to see… Including STRANGERS!!! - observations at your home? or at a park/public place? – plug the park system! Visit a park!!! - geoprivacy alleviates all fears… - if at home, you can obscure the accuracy of the observation (or change the accuracy circle) - if at a park or for a specific project, you may want to be as accurate as possible - personal preference – you can modify the accuracy!, although I try to be as accurate as possible
- 3. Wildlife concerns… - Concerns of the well-being of the organisms… - consider the biology! consider the population… - squirrels or orchids? Johnson grass or rare bird? - auto-obscuring endangered or threatened species – whooping cranes, box turtles – species of concern - you can obscure it to the county size – still can be useful data
- 3. Wildlife concerns… - Concerns of the well-being of the organisms… - consider the biology! consider the population… - squirrels or orchids? Johnson grass or rare bird? - auto-obscuring endangered or threatened species – whooping cranes, box turtles – species of concern - you can obscure it to the county size – still can be useful data
- 4. My photographs aren’t good enough… - practice! Camera technology – point and shoots are gooooood these days – a good camera has changed the way I look at nature! - issue with bugguide – most of my images were frassed and the data forever lost :( - art is not as important as science (although, it is way cool to look at!) - ID’s are as good as your photographs – some comments will tell you what to focus on next time (ex: fungi – spores and gills)
- 5. Wait, what do you call that? - common names!!! - iNat defaults to a single common name, but it might be one that you’re not familiar with… - however, multiple common names can be given to a species – but there is only ONE species name - some species don’t even have a common name... (MANY insect species)
- 6. When is somebody going to ID this?!? Come on! - Patience for ID’s… - some organisms are ID’ed within the hour – others wait for days/months/years - same situation in any collection! How much do YOU want to know what it is? - If you really don’t know the organism, and want the ID, the impetus is on the observer! - Research! Google’ing – field guides, Wikipedia, etc.. - Verify an identification/verification! The misconception that an “expert” is “perfect.” - Reaching out to others… this is the community of iNaturalist!
- 7. Change, change, change… - Updates may change the way the program looks. This is inevitable! Some changes are uncomfortable to begin with, but after using it, we become more comfortable - technology works like this… - adapt and acclimate if you want to participate
- 8. Time flies… - It takes time to do this… - absolutely! It can be a total drain of time… Lots of pictures to scroll through, lots of new information to learn, lots of practice with the website and/or apps… My wife Elizabeth will tell you how much time I spend on iNat - well, what is it worth? To me, it’s worthy of the time input
- Why are you a naturalist? - I’m a naturalist because I love nature. I love to learn about nature. I love to motivate and encourage others to love nature! I love to know and be with others that love nature.
- How to change the world…. David Attenborough –Criticism for not being vocal enough about conservation… Instead, with his shows, he would simply show them what amazing organisms are out there… “isn’t this lovely/ isn’t this amazing?”
- Participation is worth it. - you get out what you put in – input, process, output, feedback - Participation is needed! Participation makes you part of the big picture. - Welcome to other nature enthusiasts – give some guidance on organisms that others spot - you know more than you think you know! - social network for naturalists and nature-enthusiasts
- Next generation of naturalists Think of the next generation of naturalists too – they will be using these sorts of tools. Picture of nephew EJ with caterpillar… We share out knowledge and our interest As naturalists, it’s also our responsibility, duty (and privilege) to guide the next generation of naturalists