Details

ONSITE | Friday, June 16, 2 - 5 p.m.

Instructors: Jonathan Marchal & Chris Goforth

$20 Non-member Adult**

(**Arboretum Members receive a 10% discount on all classes.)

Course Capacity: 24

2 hour credit | BRN Elective | BREG Elective | NCEE - Criteria III

The iNaturalist mobile app and online platform is a powerful tool to document biodiversity around you- but this is just one of its many uses! Join Chris Goforth, Head of Citizen Science at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and Jonathan Marchal, Director of Education at the Arboretum, as we explore all the capacities of iNaturalist including filtering and downloading data sets, creating places, making identifications of others observations and more. We'll learn how to create a project on iNaturalist and show how you can put this resource to work for you. Are there more bears in the mountains or on the coast in North Carolina? When would you expect to see monarch butterflies in your area? What types of birds are in your neighborhood? You'll learn how to answer these questions and more as we discover all that iNaturalist has to offer and explore real-world examples of how iNaturalist users have aided in species conservation.

Jonathan Marchal serves as Director of Education at the Arboretum and is the creator of ecoEXPLORE, a youth citizen science initiative. He has been leading outdoor ecology and recreation programming for over twenty years for youth and adults, and was named the 2019 Naturalist of the Year by the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network. He has prior work experience with the National Park System, North Carolina State Parks and Trout Unlimited. He is an award winning, certified environmental educator and has served as the president of the Environmental Educators of North Carolina. Jonathan holds an AAS in Recreation and Wildlife Management, a BA in Ecology and a Master’s Degree in Park, Recreation and Tourism Management. He is the project lead for Team WNC in the City Nature Challenge.

Chris Goforth is the Head of Citizen Science at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and works to bring authentic research within reach of North Carolinians of all ages. She leads hundreds of public programs each year and is passionate about helping participants discover nature outdoors through hands on experience with citizen science. She partners with organizations and researchers statewide to develop citizen science opportunities for the public, create new research projects, and develop new citizen science programs. An avid iNaturalist user, Chris has created dozens of projects in the platform, taught thousands of people how to use it through virtual and in person programs, and leads multiple iNaturalist focused events each year. Chris holds degrees in biology and entomology - ask her about aquatic insects and moths!

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