Become a citizen scientist by sharing your nature discoveries

Have you ever seen a bird and wondered what it's called, noticed a flower on a bushwalk you wanted to identify, or found a spider in your garden and wondered whether it's venomous?

If you enjoy spending time outdoors or find yourself curious about the plants and animals you encounter, there are apps and platforms that can help you learn more about nature while contributing to real scientific research.

A popular app is iNaturalist Australia which now includes amazing AI capabilities which help identify almost any animal or plant. iNaturalist lets you record sightings of local flora and fauna and helps build valuable data for potential use in conservation.

Photos are also accessible to a community of experts and nature enthusiasts who help confirm the identify what you have found.

Join a project

You can add your sightings to iNaturalist projects, which groups observations by theme or location. Think of them like albums for nature photos or playlists for different types of wildlife.

These projects help track which species are found in specific areas and how they change over time. By contributing you'll be helping to:

• map where species are located
• track seasonal changes
• detect new or invasive species
• support long term conservation and scientific research.

Even a single photo, such as a beetle on your balcony, a mushroom after rain, or a bird in a local reserve, adds valuable information to the scientific record.

Local projects

Across the Northern Beaches, there are many great projects focusing on local wildlife, urban biodiversity, coastal habitats and even weeds.

We have listed a few to help you get started, but every observation you upload adds to our shared understanding of the natural environment.

• Join 'Birds of the Northern Beaches' here.
• Join the 'Avalon Golf Course Native Wildlife Initiative' here.
• Join 'Arthropods of the Sydney Northern Beaches Region' here.
• Join 'Biodiversity of North Head (Manly)' here.
• Join 'Reptiles of New South Wales' here.
• Join 'Biodiversity of Sydney' here.

How to get started

Joining iNaturalist is simple:

1. Download the iNaturalist app for iOS or Android or visit iNaturalist.ala.org.au
2. Create a free account using your email, Google, or Apple login.
3. Take a clear photo of the plant or animal you have found.
4. Upload your observation. The app will suggest possible species and the community will help confirm it.
5. Join local projects to contribute directly to regional conservation efforts.

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