What is citizen science?
Citizen science projects are easy and fun ways to get involved with creation care.
No matter your experience level, when you contribute to these projects, you enable scientists to monitor species around the world and understand how the environment is changing.
At A Rocha, we use two platforms iNaturalist and eBird for our citizen science projects.
iNaturalist
iNaturalist is a global biodiversity mapping program of nature photos and recordings. Any living (or recently living) thing can be submitted, including animal tracks, flowers, mushrooms, and bones. Every observation helps contribute to a better understanding of species distribution, such as the spread of invasive plants or habitats of endangered animals.
The A Rocha BC iNaturalist project has over 4000 observations of more than 1000 species on the property.
eBird
eBird is a program made by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for documenting bird observations, photos, and recordings from all over the world. A Rocha BC’s conservation science team uses the app on their weekly bird walks in the Tatalu watershed to make a checklist of all the birds they saw and heard. You can also use eBird to view bird statistics for certain areas, explore local bird hotspots, and keep track of a life list of everywhere you’ve seen or heard birds. Check out the hotspot that A Rocha BC is a part of, the Brooksdale Area Loop.
Merlin Bird ID, the Cornell Lab’s other bird app, is a “virtual field guide” that many A Rocha staff use. It helps you identify birds, explore likely species for places around the world, and keep track of birds you have seen . The app can guide you through step-by-step bird identification, analyze your photos to help you narrow down possible bird matches, or even give real-time sound ID with a recording.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have access to a device with an internet connection, then you can contribute to eBird and iNaturalist. Both programs are also available as mobile apps.
You can get involved in iNaturalist and eBird wherever you are, whether you’re in a city downtown, a suburban neighbourhood, or a conservation area.
If you want to join in-person projects at A Rocha BC, check out this information here.
iNaturalist has a built-in identification feature that can give you best matches for your photos.
While eBird is designed for those who are familiar with bird identification, the Merlin Bird ID app is a great start if you’re just getting into birding.
Yes! Citizen science projects are a great family activity.
iNaturalist requires a parent or guardian’s permission to create a special account for a child under age 13.
Instead of iNaturalist, you may want to check out Seek, a simplified, kid-friendly version of iNaturalist that doesn’t collect user data or require registration.
While eBird requires users to be at least 13 years old to make personal accounts, you can make a group account for a family, class, or club.
Merlin Bird ID is also an excellent app for kids and families to learn bird identification and explore the birds in their area.
Get Involved
Visiting the A Rocha BC Centre is a great way to get involved in citizen science projects, whether you’re volunteering on a restoration project with the conservation science team or simply going on a nature walk around the property.
Additional Resources
Check out these organizations for additional information on how you can get involved in citizen science projects, both locally in the Vancouver area and across Canada.
National Organizations
