This month, The North Carolina Arboretum and ecoEXPLORE celebrates 100,000 observations of wild plants and animals taken by North Carolina youth and submitted to iNaturalist. In celebration, the Arboretum is inviting everyone to pitch in on selecting the top 10 photos by voting in this poll. The deadline to participate is Sept. 1.
iNaturalist is a global, open-source platform used by researchers, land managers, educators, and conservationists to document and track species. Young naturalists participating in ecoEXPLORE add to that knowledge by submitting their own personal nature observations. Those images are reviewed by science professionals before being added to iNaturalist, where they contribute to real biodiversity research and environmental monitoring.
Voters can choose up to 10 photos from 34 eligible finalists, and the winners will receive a bonus badge and bonus points through ecoEXPLORE. The winning contributions will also be displayed at The North Carolina Arboretum. The poll can be found at this link: bit.ly/vote-ecoexplore-100k.
Designed for children ages 5-13, ecoEXPLORE (Experiences Promoting Learning Outdoors for Research and Education) blends scientific inquiry with outdoor exploration, offering themed challenges, badges and nature-based prizes to motivate participation. What began as a pilot project in Buncombe County in 2015 has now grown to include youth and families from all 100 North Carolina counties and the Qualla Boundary. Learn more at ecoexplore.net.