About BC Parks iNaturalist Project
The BC Parks iNaturalist Project began in 2019 under the directions of Dr. Brian Starzomski (UVic) and Dr. John Reynolds (SFU) through funding from BC Parks and the BC Parks Foundation. iNaturalist is a worldwide biodiversity database and social media platform to which anyone can contribute to the collection of biodiversity data, any time they’re out enjoying nature. The BC Parks project has added substantially to the biodiversity inventory of British Columbia. British Columbia hosts a greater species diversity than anywhere else in Canada. Through the observations of more than 6,000 keen citizen scientists, as well as the teams hired by the Starzomski and Reynolds, the project dataset consists of almost 500,000 observations and more than 9100 species. Strathcona Provincial Park heads the list in large part because of the contributions to our own SWI Data Collection project by our summer students, as well as former director Dr. Randal Mindell and current directors Dan Tucker and Dr. Loys Maingon. The data from our own project has been incorporated into the statistics of the BC Parks iNaturalist Project.
Online Lecture: Using iNaturalist to document biodiversity patterns in BC Parks
Recently Comox Valley Nature hosted a free online lecture with Dr. Brian Starzomski and Kate McKeown as presenters. If you would like to learn more about the iNaturalist program, click the button to the left to watch the free presentation.
Recent Work from Strathcona Wilderness Institute
The SWI Data Collection Project on iNaturalist was set up in the summer of 2020 by student Programme Coordinator Dan Tucker, and the first sets of the observations made by of our first CSJ research assistants, Erin Sketchley and Helen Anderson. The aim of this project is to act as a repository for biodiversity observations made by SWI staff, directors and authorized volunteers. The photographic record of the flora and fauna on major trails in Strathcona Provincial Park provide documentation of the biodiversity of SPP. Each summer since 2020 our CSJ students have continued to add to the species inventories, including new areas as well as revisiting trails covered in previous years. Further observations have been contributed by Dan Tucker, BSc. (who worked for three summers as a CSJ funded student and is now a director), former Director Dr Randal Mindell and Director Dr Loys Maingon. The project as of November 2023 includes 2292 species (with almost 27,500 observations). As a result of all the observations documented in this project, Strathcona Provincial Park tops the Leaderboard for numbers of species, well above other BC Parks that are included in the BC Parks Project on iNaturalist.
Please note that there are two other SWI Projects on iNaturalist, one devoted to the Lichens in Strathcona Provincial Park: and the other to Bryophytes (i.e. Mosses and Liverworts) in Strathcona Provincial Park. They too are part of our aim to record biodiversity in the Park and make that data available to the general public.
