Ten years ago, when I started work as Co-director of iNaturalist, we had just welcomed our 500th user and were about to release our first mobile app. Today, iNaturalist is the world's largest community of nature lovers with a vibrant community of over 4.7 million members from around the globe. iNaturalist represents an increasingly important force in biodiversity science and conservation. The 87 million nature observations posted so far represent more than 1 in 6 of all described species on the planet and have been cited in nearly 2,000 scientific publications.
iNaturalizing in Malaysia (left) and Madagascar (right) pre-pandemic.
I've been interested in nature ever since I was a kid. I went into academia to apply science and data to solving environmental problems, but I came to realize that writing science papers is just part of the solution. I'm so excited about iNaturalist because we're combining science, data and technology with real grassroots community involvement and engagement to confront environmental challenges more holistically and at scale. iNaturalist technology is allowing people to connect and collaborate around the world in new ways that enable us to truly think globally and act locally. At iNaturalist we believe that people are part of the solution as nature stewards because people don't just need biodiversity, but biodiversity needs people.
This year, we've embarked on an ambitious new vision for 2030 to connect 100 million people to nature and improve 1 million sites for threatened species. To reach this goal we need your support!
Please consider a one-time or recurring gift to keep it thriving today and on track to reach our 2030 vision.
Here's what your gift can do:
$13 stores 10,000 photos for a year
$33 sends one day of email updates
$150 supports the iNat Forum for a month
$500 runs the servers for 24 hours
The future of iNaturalist is in your hands. Can you chip in?
iNaturalist is a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. All donations will be received by the California Academy of Sciences, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt not-for-profit organization based on the United States of America (EIN 94-1156258).
No goods or services are received in exchange for your contribution, making your gift fully tax-deductible as allowed by law. The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Federal Identification Number for iNaturalist is 92-1296468.
Donor Wall1
Sam Kieschnick | $52.07
So grateful for inat. My life is enriched by it!