Instructions for Windows or Mac

Sign up for the Biodiversity Challenge
Five easy steps!

For a PC, follow the instructions below:

1. Go to the iNaturalist website: https://www.inaturalist.ca/

2. Create an account

• Click on Sign up.
• Fill in the fields and make sure you provide a valid e-mail address.
• Confirm that you’re not a robot.
• To make your data useful to scientists, tick the box that begins, “Yes, license my photos (...).”
• Click on Create an account.
• Now that you’ve signed up as a naturalist, you can connect to your account from your PC. You can also access your file from your phone by downloading the iNaturalist app. For further details, see the procedure for the Android app or the iPhone app.

3. Join the Biodiversity Challenge

• Hover your cursor over the dropdown Communauty menu in the grey area at the top of your screen, then click on Projects.
• Go to the search bar halfway down the page on the left, next to the green Go button (not the search bar at the top of the screen). Enter Biodiversity Challenge.The project should show up on the list of possible choices, or hit Go.
• Select Biodiversity Challenge.
• Click on Join at the top right of the screen.
• Confirm that you want to join by clicking on Yes, I want to join at the bottom left of the screen.

4. Share your observations

1. Click on the Upload icon (green arrow at top right of the screen).
2. Click on Choose files and select a photograph or a sound you’d like to share.
3. The place and date of the observation should be added automatically. If they aren’t, you can add any missing information manually.
4. Click on the Species name text box and select the suggestion you think is the most accurate. If you’re not sure, go for a very broad category like “insect” or “plant” by entering a keyword in the text box. Adding an identification, even a vague one, will help naturalists classify your observation.
5. Share your observation by clicking the green Submit 1 observation button at the top right of the screen.

That’s it! You’ve shared your observation. Go back and check on your observations from time to time: the Biodiversity Challenge community could provide a more accurate identification or add comments.

Here are some tips to help ensure efficient data collection:

• You can photograph plants, mushrooms, animals or insects.
• If you can, take several shots from different angles. You can also take close-ups of certain parts of a specimen.
• The photos you submit don’t need to be professional calibre. You just have to take pictures that are clear enough that the specimen is identifiable.
• And when making your observations, it’s essential, of course, to be respectful of nature.