iNaturalist training walk at Muir's Woods – May 12

On May 12 Steve Sentoff led a group of five members from the Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve on a walk as a training session for the use of the iNaturalist smartphone app to collect data as a citizen science project. We began our session at the Memorial Union to take advantage of the Wi-Fi there and did a demonstration of the features and capabilities of the web site, www.inaturalist.org. Then we walked to Muir Woods to practice making observations. The team collected 37 observations representing 20+ species of plants, all of which have been uploaded and are available for public viewing. In addition to learning the application, this field trip was also an introduction to many of these spring ephemerals to the group. Favorites included Cut-leaved Toothwort, Twinleaf, Dutchmen's Breeches and Bloodroot. The group felt that they were now prepared to use the tool and more confident of their ability to collect data on their own. Photos Gisela Kutzbach

Enthusiastic Friends with Steve Sentoff, left, learning and sharing on iNaturalist, from the level paths along Muir's Woods.