I have just past 1,000 observations on my iNaturalist phone app. I use this tool to record things I see in the natural world and share them. Often, I do not know the name of a mushroom or spider but iNaturalist links me to thousands of members who help identify my mystery organism. The shared data can help scientists plot where life is and what it is doing around the world.
I use iNaturalist to log all my seed collections to help build up a calendar of fruiting times for me and science, ie fruiting times in Auckland are often days or weeks earlier than the same species further south. A changing climate would also change fruiting times creating possible food gaps in the future.
We also can pull all records from a defined area (such as Eskdale Reserve) to let us know what is in the reserve that we help to look after.
WARNING: iNaturalist is not for those wanting a brisk walk through the bush! It will slow you down as you stop and observe (& record) all the interesting life that surrounds you. Actually, that is a good thing.
Derek Craig
Restoration Nursery Manager