Discover your local biodiversity

To get started, download the free iNaturalist app (from Google Play or App Store) on to your smartphone and create your account.

Then head out to your local creek, reserve, or even your own backyard and see what you can find in the way of wild (ie not planted, cultivated, captive or domesticated) plants, animals or fungi. Using the app, you can record an image or two of each different plant or animal you can find (your phone’s GPS will record the date and location), identify them to the level you are confident with, then share your observations on the iNaturalist online platform.

These simple guides will help you download the iNaturalist App and make your first observation:

• Download the iNaturalist app - for Apple devices(PDF, 1MB)
• Download the iNaturalist app - for Android devices(PDF, 1MB)

Alternatively, once back home on your computer, you can log into the iNaturalist website and record the locations (by dropping a pin on a map) and upload your photos of the observations. The main benefit of this method is that you can be more selective with the photos you upload.

Observations around Maroondah throughout the year will contribute to the ‘Nature in Maroondah’ project.

Here are some online options to help you learn how to use the iNaturalist app and website that cover different levels of interaction with the platform.

Two online webinar recordings hosted by Thomas Mesaglio (thebeachcomber), a curator and forum moderator on iNaturalist, and the leading identifier in Australia (on behalf of the Great Southern BioBlitz)

• A beginners guide for using iNaturalist
• Advance tips for using iNaturalist

Another webinar recording on how to use the iNaturalist platform by ecologist Dr Luis Mata (on behalf of the City Nature Challenge).

• iNaturalist training webinar

The iNaturalist website also provides several detailed video tutorials.

Identifying your observations

iNaturalist is very user friendly and allows you to build your identification skills as you go! When you upload your observations, you are encouraged to identify what you have observed to the level of your knowledge.

This could be the specific species name if you know it, or simply “plant” or “animal” or “spider” for example. Once uploaded, the online iNaturalist community can see them, and may provide their own knowledge to further refine, or confirm the identifications.

So, you may only know what you have observed as a ‘moth’ or ‘fungi’, but once uploaded it is likely someone from the iNaturalist community will be able to tell you the full species name of what you saw. If you leave your observation with no initial identification it is very unlikely to catch the attention of the wide range of experts in the iNaturalist community. 

The following tips for seeking out nature and making valuable observations have been provided by ecologists, entomologists, and friends groups representatives from Maroondah and wider Victoria, including Graeme Lorimer, Luis Mata, John Cull & Ken McInnes.

Seeking out nature - where and when to look

• Take it slow, stop and watch for a while, and you will start to notice things you may have otherwise missed
• Carefully move small logs and rocks on the ground to see what you may find underneath – remember to put them back to their original position.
• Carefully look under bits of loose bark from the base of gum trees to expose all kinds of insect, spider, and other invertebrate species – remember to leave any removed pieces of bark (facing down) at the base of the tree.
• Find a plant in flower and look closely at the flowers for 5-10min – you’re bound to find many insect pollinators and other flower-visiting insects that are not quite apparent at first sight or that land on the flowers as you’re watching.
• A compost bin often provides food and shelter for a number of invertebrates
• Several of our birds (and other species too) are seasonal or migratory, so take time to seek out nature at different times of the year.
• Springtime typically brings plenty of bird activity, such as breeding, nest building and feeding new young in nests.
• On warm days look closely at leaf litter and observe the critters moving around.
• Look up to see what is happening in the tree canopy (Powerful Owls will roost high in a tree during the day), but also in the shrubs and grasses lower down.
• If you find a hollow in a tree, stop and watch for a while as they can house a variety of species and are great spots to take photos for observations!
• Waterbodies can attract water birds and many other species, not just for water but also for insects and other prey to eat.
• Most of our indigenous plant species are small and below knee-high, so get down and look low and hard to see what you can discover.
• Listen out for the calls of birds and frogs - these are often very helpful for identification, so record them if you can.
• Birds are more active and therefore more observable, in the early morning or evening.
• Lizards and snakes are more active and observable when it is warm and they come out to sun themselves.
• Moths and other nocturnal invertebrates can be attracted to a light after dark. Try setting up a simple ‘moth sheet’ to attract them and once they have settled on the sheet they are quite easy to photograph up close
• Nocturnal creatures can sometime be seen at dusk or dawn as they emerge from or return to their daytime shelters.

Making your observations more valuable to science

• The most valuable observations are those of an individual species where its distinguishing characteristics are clearly shown, so others can confidently identify it from the information you have provided
• In general, include as many different perspectives and details as possible in your observation photos, and always include a photo of the whole specimen.
• To be of value, the species should be naturally wild and not 'planted', 'captive', domesticated’, cultivated, or 'placed'.
• To be of scientific value, the records of the species should be identifiable and locatable by others, so the identification and location should be able to be confirmed - meaning that the photographic image or sound recording should be up close, clear and sharp.
• Observations of a bird should include image(s) that show the shape of the beak, eye colour, distinguishing feather pattern etc.
• Observations of a grass when not in flower or seeding, are very difficult to identify. Wherever possible, try to include close ups of the flower, seed head, and individual seeds
• For Fungi take a photo of both the top of the fungi and underneath the cap. This can be done by photographing underneath or placing a mirror to reflect the gills and photograph that way.
• Note behaviours to support, confirm your observations, e.g., confirmed by distinctive calls, flight, habitat etc.
• For ferns, include photos of the top, underside of the leaf and the fronds.
• For plants, include photos of as many different parts as you can including seeds, leaves, flowers and overall form.
• For eucalypts it’s important to photograph key parts to help with identification: buds, fruits, flowers, leaves, and bark. You may even like to make a note of the scent.

The following online webinars provide further guidance on making your observation valuable to science and were held in the lead up to the 2022 Challenge. These were organised on behalf of the Greater Melbourne collaboration by Boroondara, Stonnington, Monash, Hume, Moreland, Banyule, Darebin, Knox, Moreland and Mitchell councils.

• The Small and Mighty Micro World (26 April 2022)
• Leaves, Feathers and Scales: the Macro World (27 April 2022)