Learn How to Become an Arlington Citizen Scientist at Stormwater Management’s iNaturalist Workshop on Oct. 2, 2021
By Melissa Walker, Environmental Education Specialist
Posted on September 23, 2021, September 23, 2021

Butterfly

Are you interested in Arlington’s plant and animal diversity? Do you want to have a fun outdoor family activity? Would you like to help local biologists and other scientists gather data about our local ecosystem? Arlington’s Bee City Committee and the City’s Stormwater Management Division are inviting residents to become part of our Citizen Science Program.

Citizen science projects and programs are developed to assist professional scientist with the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world through public participation. These projects provide the general public the opportunity to share and contribute to data monitoring and collection programs. By participating in these projects, citizens can increase their scientific knowledge, develop a deeper understanding of the scientific process and bring their curiosity, passion and commitment to scientific and research matters.

The Arlington Citizen Science Program will utilize the iNaturalist nature phone app to gather species observations to better understand our local biodiversity. The iNaturalist nature phone app documents your observations and helps identify the plants and animals around you. It was developed in 2008 as a master’s degree final project at UC Berkeley and is now a joint venture between the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. It has become one of the most popular nature apps in the world. By using this program, you can record and share your observations with scientists, naturalists and other citizen scientists while also learning from other app users’ observations. The data collected is used to better understand and protect the natural world.

The iNaturalist Workshop will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, at the Fish Creek Neighborhood Park Pavilion, 2121 Havenwood Dr, Arlington, TX 76018. The workshop will last for an hour and then our committee members will assist attendees in using the iNaturalist app to make species observations and identifications of the local plants and animals.

Register for this event by contacting the Stormwater Education Specialist, Melissa Walker at 817-459-6572 or [email protected].


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