Even for the most basic day trip in a park there are a few must-bring items, things like water, a warm or waterproof layer, and a smart phone! A few years ago I realized my phone is not merely a useful piece of outdoor gear (GPS / camera etc.), it’s actually the most powerful conservation tool I own. It lets me learn and keep track of new species, identify and report invasive species, record disease / pest-resistant trees, identify and report rare or endangered species, and navigate on the trails with interactive trail maps and GPS. I can even use it as a phone if I get into trouble. Here are a few of the most valuable apps, and some citizen science projects you can access with them:
iNaturalist
This is the must-have app for anyone with even a passing interest in the natural world. If you’re reading this and you don’t have iNaturalist installed on your phone, you might as well go get it now (Android / iOS). For species ID alone you’ll want it. Simply snap a photo of that caterpillar, beetle, plant, bird, etc. that is puzzling you, and iNaturalist will suggest a species identification… it’s amazingly accurate for common species. Because I trained as a botanist I’m pretty weak on other groups like insects, and I often use it as a sort of field guide to recognize common species. I’ll also use it to get a second opinion on tricky plants, because it connects me to a large group of experienced field naturalists, or keep track of where I’ve seen certain plants. It’s all done by photos, so if you’re not sure what is needed for ID, take lots of photos from different angles, and some close-up as well as some whole-organism photos. If you’re photographing a tree try to get the bark, branches, leaves, and the buds if possible. Then walk back and photograph the form of the tree. You’ll learn more this way, your observation will be more accurate, and it will be more useful to others (including users who are just learning the species).
How it works
iNaturalist is a crowd-sourced species identification system. If you post a photo of a species you don’t recognize to iNaturalist, the community should tell you what you saw (half of all observations are identified in the first 2 days). However, since 2017 machine learning has allowed the app to make suggestions using the database of identified photos – there are well over 10,000 species with enough data (>20 research grade observations) to be identified by the image classification software, and a new species crosses the data threshold every 1.7 hours as new observations and identifications are added to iNaturalist. This means every observation you post, or identification you make, works to improve the model!
iNaturalist research projects
Only once two or more people have confirmed an identification does an observation become “research grade”. And it’s not hyperbole; iNaturalist is a powerful research tool because the data can be freely downloaded, and researchers are also able to create projects. With projects its possible to aggregate certain types of observations, and to ask users to fill in custom data fields to accompany observations. This makes iNaturalist the most powerful app that I know of for conservation of species and ecosystems; here are just a few of my favourite projects:
- Bioblitzes: A bioblitz is a communal citizen-science effort to record as many species within a designated location and time period as possible. iNaturalist is increasingly being used for bioblitzes. It controls data quality, and records precise time and location.
- Invasive Species in Ontario: You don’t have to join this project, your observations of invasive species in Ontario are automatically aggregated into it. It’s worth going to look at the map to see what invasive species are found near you – and remember to add invasive species observations when you see them.
- Ontario Native Ash Seed and Survivor DNA Collection: The Forest Gene Conservation Association (www.fgca.net) needs your help in locating seed and surviving trees! Native ash trees (five Fraxinus species in Ontario) continue to be decimated by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer. The project has already documented many large healthy trees healing from EAB attack, in the aftermath forest. There is hope!
- Beech bark disease resistance: Disease-free beech trees have commonly been observed in infested stands throughout the range of beech bark disease (BBD). This project collects records of healthy beech in areas where the disease is established and nearby trees are dead / deformed, or scale and fungus are prolific.
- Eastern Hemlock Project: The distribution of eastern hemlock is surprisingly poorly mapped in many states and provinces. This project collects locations of eastern hemlock to help with management of hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Locations of old-growth hemlock forests or groves are of particular interest (there are data fields for stand age and forest type). HWA locations can also help in management, and for training volunteer surveyors. A closely related effort is Healthy Hemlock Forests of the Maritimes.
- Monitoring and Managing Ash℠ (MaMA℠) 1: Ash/EAB surveys: One of three iNaturalist projects of the MaMA program (MonitoringAsh.org), which aims to help prevent ash extinction and mitigate emerald ash borer damage in the United States.
Seek by iNaturalist
A beginner and kid-friendly version of iNaturalist.
Merlin
Merlin is an amazing app, it listens to bird songs and identifies them, or recognizes them from a photo. I’m a pretty mediocre birder but some of the best birders I know tell me that it is incredibly accurate. It not only identifies the birds that it hears, but highlights them when they are singing to help you tell one bird from another. You download bird packs for the region you’re in, and then Merlin works completely offline so you can even identify birds even when you are far from cell service.
eBird Mobile
According to the website, eBird is the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science project, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed each year by eBirders around the world. The mobile apps streamline creation of checklists of the birds that you’ve seen, which creates a robust database that is very valuable for research. This app caters to all levels of birder, but does ask users to try to make as complete a list as they are able to – this is different from iNaturalist, where data collection is far more haphazard. “We want eBird to be used by birders of all skill levels: our only request is that you try to use eBird to its fullest capacity, report the birds you see and hear to the best of your ability, and err on the conservative side if you are unsure about your identification.” Although it caters to all levels, if you’re a complete novice birder you might want to start with Merlin Bird ID (below) which helps you learn your birds before you start entering data.
EDDMapS
This app is great because it allows you to report invasive species, and know that priority species will be followed up on, because there is an official agency tasked with reviewing the observations. It’s a simple way to participate in meaningful hands-on conservation. The Invasive Species in Ontario iNaturalist project is also connected to the EDDMapS database, but high profile / watchlist invasive species could be added through the EDDMapS app to ensure they are properly followed up on. This app lacks the species recognition algorithms of iNaturalist, but it has extensive information about each invasive species. The two apps are really very complementary. It doesn’t work everywhere, but fourty U.S. States and Four Canadian Provinces have active EDDMapS programs.
Nature’s Notebook
Nature’s Notebook tracks seasonal changes in plants (phenology), and uses the data to monitor the effects of climate change on ecosystems. It involves a weekly commitment to monitor the same plants or animals, so you’ll probably want to choose something in your backyard or local natural area. You need to set up your account, then you can either use data sheets or the mobile apps to collect data. The apps don’t work on all devices, and seem to still be in development (the apple version has particularly low ratings); but this is a very exciting citizen science project, I’ll be watching for improvements to the mobile platforms.
Ontario trail apps
The Bruce Trail app
The Bruce Trail App features the 42 official topographic maps found in the printed Bruce Trail Reference, Map and Trail Guide – with continuously updated trail information (including parking) and helpful navigational tools. It can be used with or without cell coverage on the trail once the maps are downloaded to your phone. It costs $20 but is worth it for the maps alone! It allows you to track your location on the map (this will increase the draw on your phone battery), record photo locations, and more. Get it for Android/ Get it for IOS
Humber Valley Heritage Trail
The Humber Valley Heritage Trail is a 20 km long pedestrian trail within easy access of the Greater Toronto Area. It was established by the Humber Valley Heritage Trail Association in the upper reaches of the Humber River in the Town of Caledon, and traverses a vast tract of land managed by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, including beautiful viewpoints and a few small pockets of old-growth forest. The app shows parking and trail features, and lets you track your progress on a simple trail map.
The app offers less than the Bruce Trail App, and is available for Android only, however it is free!
Other apps
There are so many other apps, below are just a few you may want to consider. If you have a favourite citizen science app, let us know in a comment.
The Bugwood Network has created about two dozen apps related to invasive and beneficial species, especially insects.
Adopt-a-Pond Citizen Science app collects observations for the Turtle Tally and FrogWatch programs of the Toronto zoo. Get if for Android / IOS.