#nature apps

[thiswildcuriosity]

There's an app for that. I took a look at some of the best apps that can help you identify plants and animals when you're out in nature and why Merlin changed my outdoor experience.

[nepeteaa]

palestine will be free

[flightlessartist]

in the garden of rot and rebirth🍂🪺

✦ find me on instagram @the.flightless.artist ✦

[ashenwaves]

🌱An Earth Goddess for Earth Day 🌱

Art prints

[crimehat]

St. Peter appreciation post, let's go!

[sophiphi]

Guys. GUYS. listen to me- kate carter is a natural brunette. no i’m not just saying that because daisy edgar jones has brown hair naturally, there’s a picture of young kate and her mom that is shown in the scene where she comes back home. I caught it on my second rewatch. I mean ofc you could chalk up her darker roots to it just being a dirty blonde but no, she really is a brunette.

Which brings me to this thought- I wonder what Tyler’s reaction (along with the others ofc) would be when they see Kate with brown hair. Let’s say her blonde dye was growing out enough for her to decide to dye it back. Maybe she does it when she went back to NY for a bit before going back to Oklahoma. Will there be chaos? Definitely. Will Tyler Owens get a heart attack? Duh. Like, imagine the possibilities guys, hellooo

[florealegiardini]

A great blue heron at one my favourite spots in the city for nature walks. 🩵

~ Nila Sivatheesan

[polarlightszine]

❄️ APPS OPEN NOV 15 – DEC 15 ❄️

Hello everyone, we’re back for POLAR LIGHTS 3: MIDNIGHT!

POLAR LIGHTS is a digital charity anthology focused on Arctic and Antarctic life. We’re looking for artists and writers from all walks who have a passion for nature and conservation.

🫎 APPLY HERE: forms.gle/s8vSGqtCZMsRHyAf6

For more information on the project, including our schedule and guidelines, check out our about page.

About | Itch.io | Mod: @vireosy

[rebeccathenaturalist]

An App Does Not a Master Naturalist Make

Originally posted on my website at https://rebeccalexa.com/app-not-master-naturalist/ - I had written this as an op-ed and sent it to WaPo, but they had no interest, so you get to read it here instead!

I have mixed feelings about Michael Coren’s April 25 Washington Post article, “These 4 free apps can help you identify every flower, plant and tree around you.” His ebullience at exploring some of the diverse ecological community around him made me grin, because I know exactly what it feels like. There’s nothing like that sense of wonder and belonging when you go outside and are surrounded by neighbors of many species, instead of a monotonous wall of green, and that is a big part of what led me to become a Master Naturalist.

When I moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest in 2006, I felt lost because I didn’t recognize many of the animals or plants in my new home. So I set about systematically learning every species that crossed my path. Later, I began teaching community-level classes on nature identification to help other people learn skills and tools for exploring their local flora, fauna, and fungi.

Threeleaf foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)

Let me be clear: I love apps. I use Merlin routinely to identify unknown bird songs, and iNaturalist is my absolute favorite ID app, period. But these tools are not 100% flawless.

For one thing, they’re only as good as the data you provide them. iNaturalist’s algorithms, for example, rely on a combination of photos (visual data), date and time (seasonal data), and GPS coordinates (location data) to make initial identification suggestions. These algorithms sift through the 135-million-plus observations uploaded to date, finding observations that have similar visual, seasonal, and location data to yours.

There have been many times over the years where iNaturalist isn’t so sure. Take this photo of a rather nondescript clump of grass. Without seed heads to provide extra clues, the algorithms offer an unrelated assortment of species, with only one grass. I’ve gotten that “We’re not confident enough to make a recommendation” message countless times over my years of using the app, often suggesting species that are clearly not what I’m looking at in real life.

Because iNaturalist usually offers up multiple options, you have to decide which one is the best fit. Sometimes it’s the first species listed, but sometimes it’s not. This becomes trickier if all the species that are suggested look alike. Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) and eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra) all have pinnately compound, lanceolate leaves, and young plants of these three species can appear quite similar. If all you know how to do is point and click your phone’s camera, you aren’t going to be able to confidently choose which of the three plants is the right one.

Coren correctly points out that both iNaturalist and Pl@ntNet do offer more information on suggested species—if people are willing to take the time to look. Too many assume ID apps will give an easy, instant answer. In watching my students use the app in person almost everyone just picks the first species in the list. It’s not until I demonstrate how to access the additional content for each species offered that anyone thinks to question the algorithms’ suggestions.

While iNaturalist is one of the tools I incorporate into my classes, I emphasize that apps in general are not to be used alone, but in conjunction with field guides, websites, and other resources. Nature identification, even on a casual level, requires critical thinking and observation skills if you want to make sure you’re correct. Coren’s assertion that you only need a few apps demonstrates a misunderstanding of a skill that takes time and practice to develop properly—and accurately.

Speaking of oversimplification, apps are not a Master Naturalist in your pocket, and that statement —while meant as a compliment–does a disservice to the thousands of Master Naturalists across the country. While the training curricula vary from state to state, they are generally based in learning how organisms interact within habitats and ecosystems, often drawing on a synthesis of biology, geology, hydrology, climatology, and other natural sciences. A Master Naturalist could tell you not only what species you’re looking at, but how it fits into this ecosystem, how its adaptations are different from a related species in another ecoregion, and so forth.

Map showing Level III and IV ecoregions of Oregon, the basis of my training as an Oregon Master Naturalist.

In spite of my criticisms, I do think that Coren was absolutely onto something when he described the effects of using the apps. Seeing the landscape around you turn from a green background to a vibrant community of living beings makes going outside a more exciting, personal experience. I and my fellow nature nerds share an intense curiosity about the world around us. And that passion, more than any app or other tool, is fundamental to becoming a citizen naturalist, Master or otherwise.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[iguessthisisanewobsession]

Might need a new tag for deadpool and wolverine and Danny phantom crossover bc I found this awesome assumed future love child au or something post one here, my tumblr crashed and I have searched for it for the last half an hour to no avail.

[flightlessartist]

goddess of aiaia 🌿

✦ find me on instagram @the.flightless.artist ✦

[supremefloof]

you'll NEVER guess my favorite pokemon character

[hobgob-online]

ah shit uhh running low in notes… oh, MOSS! MOSS! I AM TALKING ABOUT MOSS! MOSS IS COOL! I AM TALKING ABOUT MOSS AND HOW COOL IT IS! LOOK! I LIKE MOSS! THIS IS RELATABLE! I AM BEING RELATABLE!!!!

[crystaltearspo]

[miscgallery]

[Day 4: AU] a close call!

(bonus doodles and context under cut)

peaky are sort-of "robin hood" characters who are rich themselves, but don secret identities to target corrupt politicians, government officials, and billionaires when the law fails to punish them. most of what they do is dig up dirt on their chosen target and bring it to light for the general public.

one of their targets had invited esora (current ceo of the shimizu group) to a mansion party. they decided that this would be a good opportunity to gather more intel and do a little snooping around the mansion.

esora attends the party proper with yuka as her "bodyguard". things are going well until the power goes out and a gun is shot. the room immediately dissolves into a panic, and yuka scoops esora up before making an emergency exit through one of the massive windows. kyoko and shinobu throw out a rope ladder and yuka grabs it at the last second before they make their escape.

[bolly--quinn]

I’m so curious about your headcanons of Diane, personality, her history with Rick, etc.

tbh I’ve been seeing content of Diane being “a sweet and gentle bimbo housewife with 2 braincells” and I grew tired of it…. So I thought of this!! For me I like to think that she was a cool and badass woman rather than a shy, timid woman… I also think it’s somewhat canon (according to the fandom) that she’s the breadwinner of the family (haven’t figured out her job yet) while Rick is a stay-at-home parent and takes care of Beth, also she’s intelligent!!! Not as smart as Rick though but like she’s not airhead.

What do you think ?? and what are your thoughts on Diane ? <3

I mean I knew Diane wasn't gonna be an airhead since we know Rick is attracted to power lol (like Unity says it's planning to become the universe, practically a god and Rick is like super into it so obviously Diane has to have some semblance of ambition and the ability to take charge lmao)

I'll be honest though I didn't love her depiction in Fear no mort (obvious reasons are obvious) but I did always picture her as a woman who could handle herself and is sarcastic and teasing (affectionately) and strong-willed

I actually wrote stuff in my notes app about their dynamic and made this little venn diagram about it

bonus: here's the personality traits that I think Beth gets from them