Have you been itching to try out iNaturalist? Your local UF/IFAS Extension Polk County Office is now a new “place” on the app and website!
iNaturalist’s Newest Extension Project
We’ve launched an iNaturalist project to inventory the species found on our property, both cultivated and wild.
Our demonstration gardens have many native and Florida-Friendly Landscaping species. Like many places in Florida, we have some non-native and even invasive plants, too. Our Master Gardener volunteers work to remove these invasive species in their regular garden maintenance; however, including observations of them in our iNaturalist project is always a helpful way to capture local species diversity and management challenges.
Biodiversity Surveys: The Citizen Science Way
That’s where you come in! Help us inventory our biodiversity. From plants to insects, fungi to wildlife—if you can capture a good (in focus!) photo, we’d love to have it included in our iNaturalist project.
Your observations on iNaturalist are also important for research. Studies, like, Citizen Science as an Ecological Research Tool: Challenges and Benefits by Dickinson et al. (2012), show how citizen science helps with biodiversity monitoring and conservation planning. In the Southeast, including Florida, these data help identify species at risk and inform management practices.
Details:
- iNaturalist Project: UF/IFAS Extension Polk County Project
- Labeling Observations: No need! Any observations geotagged on our property will be included automatically.
- Marking an Observation as “Cultivated”:
- Yes, if you think the species was planted or is being maintained.
- No, if it looks like the species may be a natural recruit brought in by birds, wildlife, or other means.
- Notifying the Office: No need. This is a self-starter project. iNaturalist is an app for citizen science that you can use independently. Our office property is an easy “beginner” level survey location with nice parking, shade, and restrooms.
Download the app for your mobile phone, below:
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