Species Monitoring


The Jack Pine Conservation Estate now conducts all species monitoring online in partnership with iNaturalist. iNaturalist is an independent, nonprofit organization that began in 2008 to connect people to nature and advance science and conservation.

iNaturalist facilitates species monitoring through its community-driven platform, where users upload observations (photos, audio) with location and date to build a database used for scientific research and conservation. Observations can be made by anyone and are crowdsourced for identification, with research-quality data being added to global databases after sufficient agreement. This data helps scientists track species, monitor biodiversity, study invasive species, and even discover new species.


The steps to get started are simple

1. Set up your account

  • Download the iNaturalist app for iOS or Android.
  • Create a free account with a valid email address, username, and password.

2. Make an observation

  • Explore the Jack Pine Conservation Estate and the Kaladar jack Pine Barren Reserve and find a living thing to observe.
  • Tap the "Observe" button and take a photo. You can add more photos later if you have them.


3. Identify and add details

  • Tap "What did you see" to get AI-powered identification suggestions.
  • Select a suggestion or search for a species name.
  • Confirm the date, time, and automatically generated location. You can also adjust the geoprivacy settings and add notes.
  • Mark if the organism is cultivated (like a garden plant) or wild.

4. Share your observation

  • Tap "Share" to upload your observation.
  • The community can then help with identifications, and your observation can become "research grade" if multiple users agree on the identification.
  • You can also add your observation to projects by selecting them on the "Projects" screen before sharing.
Need Tips on What to Look for?

Use our Species Guide which was released to better help reference species that were confirmed and documented at the Jack Pine Conservation Estate. It is easily referenced on your phone for quick, reliable support on species of flora, fauna, funga and more.



Wildlife Photography & Birding

Are you a professional photographer interested in monitoring with a camera and telephoto lens? No problem! Photos are easily contributed through the app or desktop login allowing us to attain high quality images of fast-moving species.

The Jack Pine Conservation Estate and Kaladar Jack Pine Barren Reserve is home to the prairie warbler. Tourists come from far to catch a glimpse of these extremely rare birds along with other rare and endangered species.

We look forward to your visit and contribution to the Jack Pine Conservation Estate’s species monitoring program!