Conservation Perkins-sur-le-Lac is trying to understand biodiversity in our beautiful region and is curious about the rare and at-risk species that also call this home.

We want to learn more about the plants and animals that enrich the area. Documenting biodiversity can also help us attract funding from federal and provincial organizations to protect these species and support further conservation efforts.

Documenting the biodiversity in our region will also help us protect species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List provides a critical assessment of the world’s biodiversity and the conservation actions necessary to halt its decline.

Will you join us in recording what you observe? iNaturalist is a free app that will allow you to record that beautiful flower by the water or the bird that keeps singing at a particular location – and learn their names.

The app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store. You can also record your observation on the iNaturalist website.

Instructions

Full instructions can be accessed here.

Submit your observations

Observations can be made by taking a photo or sound recording a call/song. Once you have downloaded the app, you can record and submit an observation by:

  1. Selecting the 'Observe' tab in the bottom menu
  2. Taking your photo or make your recording (or select a photo from your library)
  3. Clicking on 'use photo' or 'save recording'
  4. Clicking on the 'share' button

Before sharing you can add ‘notes’ or you can ‘look up species name’ to assist in the identification. BUT… if you do nothing else, other iNaturalist users will see your observation on the map and help identify what you saw.

Viewing observations

You can also see what others have observed in the Perkins-on-the-Lake region by using the ‘Explore’ tab. Observations are visible on a map with colour-coded markers, or you can choose to display them in a list. Conservation Perkins-sur-le-Lac will also share key observations online.

Obscuring your location

If you are making observations in your backyard or you would like to protect the location of a sensitive plant or habitat of a particular animal, you can obscure the exact location from which you recording your observation.

  1. Select the ‘Observe’ tab in the bottom menu
  2. Take your photo or make your recording (or select a photo from your library)
  3. Click on ‘use photo’ or ‘save recording’
  4. Select the ‘Geoprivacy’ tab (just under your location/address)
  5. Select 'obscured' on the menu
  6. Click on 'done'
  7. Click on the 'share' button

Now,you are sharing your observation in the approximate location of Val-des-Monts, not your specific location.