NatureWatch NZ (iNaturalist NZ)
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NatureWatch NZ (iNaturalist NZ)
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Whether you’re a family exploring your local reserve, a sailor documenting seabirds offshore, or a hiker spotting alpine plants, NatureWatch NZ makes every observation count towards understanding and protecting New Zealand’s natural heritage.
NatureWatch NZ is the New Zealand community of the global iNaturalist network, a citizen science project that connects people with nature through biodiversity observations.
Anyone can take part by photographing plants, animals, fungi, or any other living organism and uploading the record to the online platform or app. Each observation helps build a shared database of New Zealand’s unique biodiversity, from backyard gardens and city parks to remote forests and coastlines.
Scientists, naturalists, and fellow observers then help with species identification, creating a collaborative, constantly growing picture of the country’s flora and fauna. The data not only deepens public knowledge of local ecosystems but also contributes to national and global biodiversity research and conservation.
WHAT
To record biodiversity, aiding identification, research, and conservation.
HOW
By photographing species and uploading observations to the iNaturalist NZ platform
WHERE (LAND)
Attribute
WHERE (SEA)
Attribute
New Zealand nature is amazing, and we need New Zealanders to be aware of that and engaged in what’s around them…By everyone paying more attention to nature, we’re seeing more new things…It’s also great fun. It makes every day a bit more of an adventure.
— Jon Sullivan, Ecologist at Lincoln University and curator for iNaturalist NZ – Mātaki Taiao
