New to iNaturalist? Here’s Why You Should Join Us
Ever snapped a photo of a weird bug, a wildflower you couldn’t name, or a bird that flew off before you could look it up? That’s exactly what iNaturalist is for.
iNaturalist is a free app (and website) that helps you identify the plants, animals, and fungi around you — and turns your everyday sightings into real scientific data. Snap a photo, upload it, and a community of naturalists (plus some helpful AI-powered suggestions) will help you figure out what you found. Every observation you make also gets added to a global database used by researchers, land managers, and conservation groups around the world.
No expertise required. You don’t need to know a single species name to get started — just curiosity and a smartphone or camera.
Join In the BAWG Project
We’ve set up a project called In the BAWG to bring together everything being observed across our management area — all 7.5 watersheds’ worth. Every observation logged within our boundary automatically becomes part of the bigger picture of what’s living here, season after season, year after year.
Whether you’re out on a hike, working in your yard, or just noticing something interesting on your daily walk, your observations matter. Here’s how to jump in:
- Download the iNaturalist app (iOS or Android) or head to inaturalist.org
- Create a free account
- Snap a photo of any plant, animal, or fungus you come across
- Join our project: In the BAWG
That’s it. The more eyes we have out there, the better picture we build of the plants and wildlife sharing our watersheds with us. We’d love to have you along.