Community Science

What is this WILD plant or animal out here?

Unlike other community science apps like eBird that specialize in identifying birds, iNaturalist deals with anything biotic that is or once was living: birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, fish, mollusks, arachnids, insects, plants, protozoans, fungi, and lichen. As of March 2026, there is a total of 289,677,00+ observations made by more than 4 million iNaturalist users worldwide.

At Wildlands Conservancy’s nature preserves alone, 2,700+ observations (and counting) of 929 species have been made by 300 iNaturalist users. Of those, more than half are “Research Grade,” meaning their identification has been confirmed by others and these observations can be used in scientific datasets as well as academic research.

Here, you can find a dashboard of iNaturalist observations below. To hone in on a Wildlands Conservancy nature preserve, select the preserve you want to explore. Then, you can select a species to see its observation and view more information about the species.

Getting Started: Identify your nature finds and contribute to community science!

The mobile app (Apple Store or Google Play) is best for making and uploading observations. If you want the full experience, the desktop website allows you to suggest identifications on others’ observations and even make your own project like the one above.

One thing to note when getting started: iNaturalist will make you view the world differently. You might see more nature in urban environments, develop a keen eye, and be encouraged to take up the hobby of lifelong learning. iNaturalist Executive Director Scott Loarie talked about why community science is so important for inspiring conservation during a TEDtalk titled The Surprising Power of Your Nature Photos.

Make an Observation

To get started making iNaturalist observations, you’ll need to create an account or login. You’ll need a set amount of information for create a high-quality observation:

• A photo or a sound recording.
• Where you saw the organism. This can be either manually or automatically imported, or you have the option to obscure the location.
• When (date/time) you observed the organism. This usually automatically uploads from a photo’s metadata, but you’ll want to double-check that it’s correct.
• An identification. iNaturalist’s AI will offer suggestions, but if you’re not so sure, type in the family group, order, or taxon. It can be better to go with a broad identification like “bird” or “fungi” rather than guess what something is.
• If it was cultivated like a house or garden plant, zoo animal, or pet, ensure you click the captive/cultivated checkbox.

You can follow iNaturalist’s step-by-step guide to creating an observation or watch a video tutorial.

Join A Project that Fits Your Interests

Projects allow users to sort data by criteria, including taxonomic subject matter, time of year, and/or location.

• City Nature Challenge 2026: Lehigh Valley – The City Nature Challenge is an annual, worldwide bioblitz (an event to record as many species as possible in a short period of time). The challenge runs April 24-27 and is open to everyone to participate, regardless of prior training—just click “Join project.” But you can prepare to take on the challenge with training sessions at Dan’s Camera City. Learn hands-on how to use iNaturalist and pick up some photography pointers from the experts! Sessions are: Friday, March 20, and Saturday, March 21, at Dan’s Camera City, Saturday, April 4 at the Bethlehem Area Public Library, Monday, April 6 at the Parkland Community Library.

• Wildlands Conservancy’s Nature Preserves – Search and sift through your favorite Wildlands Conservancy’s nature preserves individually. South Mountain Preserve, Black River Sanctuary, and many, many more have their own iNaturalist project that automatically catches your observations made at the respective location.

• Spotted Lantern Fly Predation – The Spotted Lantern Fly (SLF) Predation project documents photo evidence of native or introduced species eating or parasitizing the spotted lantern fly in North America. This data is being used in research at Penn State about native birds’ impact on spotted lantern flies.

• Found Feathers – When you pick up a cool feather you find on the ground, you’re picking up a puzzle piece that’s a part of broader bird population and migration data. Your feather photos might readily be identified by iNaturalist’s technology while creating an observation, but adding the observation to the Found Feathers project increases the chances it makes it in front a real human birder’s eyes for another opinion.

• Northeast Rare Fungi Challenge – Fungal Diversity Survey targets 20 potentially rare or under-documented species of mushrooms in this project. Just click “Join Project,” and if you ever stumble upon one of the rare species, it will automatically show up in the project. Keep your eye out for a volunteer reaching out about obtaining a specimen for DNA sequencing.

RELATED POSTS