iNaturalist is primarily for sharing observations of wild organisms.
Other abiotic phenomena should be marked as "Evidence of organism — No" in the Data Quality Assessment section, which is at the bottom of the observation page.
Read more at https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/help#inappropriate
Need to know more about iNaturalist.
Watch these videos to learn more.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/garden-route-district-south-africa/journal/79966-inaturalist-video-tutorials
For more information
Email us at grd.cnc@gmail.com
Follow the Garden Route Facebook page at https://web.facebook.com/GardenRouteINaturalist/
When contributing to iNaturalist, ensuring the accuracy of your observations is important to maintaining the integrity of the platform's data. Your efforts are invaluable in advancing our collective understanding of the natural world!
When you upload an observation, you'll have the opportunity to specify the accuracy of your sighting. This helps other users and researchers understand the reliability of your location data. Remember, accuracy matters, and even small adjustments can make a big difference.
To ensure your observations are as precise as possible, take a moment to zoom in on the location within the app and note the accuracy indicator. Aim for a finer accuracy reading for better precision. Keep in mind that iNaturalist won't index observations that fall outside the designated project area, so it's essential to be as accurate as you can. The closer you are to the boundary the more precise your accuracy needs to be.
If you're confident in your location, feel free to pinpoint it with 1-meter accuracy. Otherwise, a general guideline of 20 meters can help maintain a reasonable level of certainty for your observations.
Note that if the observation is obscured, other people will not be able to view the exact location but the information will still be valid or scientific research.
While technology can assist in determining accuracy, it's always a good idea to double-check manually. Do not solely rely on your camera or phone to provide this information.
Your dedication to accuracy not only enhances the quality of your observations but also contributes to the effectiveness of iNaturalist as a tool for scientific research and conservation.
Keep up the great work, and together, we can continue to uncover the wonders of the natural world!
iNaturalist allows a user to select 1 of 3 options to display the level of information and accuracy available to others as to the location of an observation.
Public
This setting allows a user to accurately show where the observation was taken. You can put the pin exactly on a tree and someone could use the coordinates to find the precise spot. Everyone can see the true coordinates.
Example: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/37272937
Obscured
This setting allows a user to hide the accuracy of an observation. Some things we just know must not be shown to the public.
A user will see a random point within a 0.2 by 0.2-degree area that contains the true coordinates. This area works out to about a 22 by 22-kilometre area at the equator.
The randomized public coordinates appear within the rectangle as a circular marker without a stem. True coordinates are only visible to you, trusted users, and trusted project curators.
Just a note about projects. If the location is obscured and you add it to a traditional project the coordinates may be displayed to the curators of the project. So, check your options when you join the project. This only applies to Traditional projects. Not Collection or Umbrella projects.
Example: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/15488531
Private
This setting allows a user to block any indication as to where the observation was taken.
A user will not even see a map to indicate if it was taken on planet Earth or Mars.
Example: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43105311
So, what to use and when?
Under general observations, you would likely use the Public option. This would allow any other user to re-visit the site to verify the observation or for researchers studying distribution.
Rare or endangered species are automatically obscured by the system, so there is no need for you to select them. Go and check any Rhino observation and you will see that it is not accurate. You could still select the obscured option to doubly make sure it is hidden.
However, not all our sensitive or Red Data plant species are automatically obscured. There are organisms sought after for some reason (traditional use, horticulture, to trade in, just to be collected, because they are pretty or accessible). Bulbs and many succulents fall into this category. Remoteness vs access makes a difference, though collectors climb scary mountains to collect interesting insects - they sell and trade with these. If you aim to protect something because of these reasons, then do feel free to obscure it.
Why, well the system still needs to be updated and not everything is listed to be automatically obscured.
Private. By selecting Private, the photo will be shown, but the map page, location description and dates will be hidden. No collection project will accept it as it does not know where in the world the observation was taken. If you are participating in a challenge or BioBlitz do not use this option.
If you have taken an observation at your house, and do not want everyone to know exactly where you stay. Instead of pinning your house, select your street, or suburb. Or a nearby road intersection. Then set the accuracy to display a circle that includes your home. Now you are saying it is in that area, but somewhere in the circle.
This will help prevent a grass patch from being displayed at sea.
Users need to make informed decisions based on their preferences and the nature of their observations. For further guidance, users can refer to the iNaturalist help page under Observations, point 8. Remember, while suggestions can be provided, the final decision rests with the user. https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/help#quality
If you're keen on capturing photos with your cell phone but worry about exhausting your data allowance while in the field, there's a simple solution: Disabling automatic uploading while you're out in the field. By doing so, you can conserve your data until you're back within Wi-Fi range, where you can then connect and synchronize all your photos effortlessly.
To help you, see these example screenshots illustrating where to adjust these settings within both iPhone and Android devices. These screenshots show the checkbox to ensure that automatic uploading is turned off while you're on the go.
Once you're back within the vicinity of a Wi-Fi network, it's important to remember to select this option again to allow your photos to sync seamlessly. Do not shut the app while synchronizing. If you shut down the app, then the photos will not upload, and you will have an observation without images.
By following these simple steps, you can continue to snap away with your cell phone camera without the worry of consuming all your data. Happy shooting!
See pictures for examples of how to turn off/on see: https://www.facebook.com/GardenRouteINaturalist/posts/pfbid02fTW3qrDn66kxYDW1BVYgKeWbELsLHXHfUrzgZo7mNFNZdqDcevHodnojjkyBvx2gl
An Umbrella project on iNaturalist can only include up to 500 individual projects.
This year, more than 500 projects have been registered for the City Nature Challenge.
This has necessitated two umbrella projects covering two geographical regions by continent:
The one is North and South America and the second is Eurasia, Africa and Oceania.
• North and South America
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-north-and-south-america
• Eurasia, Africa and Oceania
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-eurasia-africa-oceania
The Garden Route project will fall under Eurasia, Africa and Oceania.
All the projects will be split and moved to the new projects in due course.
This does not affect the existing Garden Route project. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-garden-route
