BC Parks Foundation

Header photo by Jason Headley

Join the community science movement today!

Confirming British Columbians' love of nature and the outdoors, nearly 3 million observations of wildlife and natural species in BC had been aggregrated over iNaturalist and other nature-observation apps to date. This year, we're calling on you to help us reach 3 million observations in BC's Big Nature Challenge. Click here to learn more.

When you visit BC's provincial parks and nature areas, collect photographic observations of plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms, then upload them to the iNaturalist website or app. These observations help researchers develop a deeper understanding of what parks are protecting and inform management decisions to sustain these protected areas for generations to come. Observations recorded in BC's provincial parks are automatically shared with the BC Parks iNaturalist project.

The BC Parks Foundation, BC Parks, University of Victoria, and Simon Fraser University are collaborating on this project to ensure all British Columbians and park visitors can contribute to the research and understanding of BC’s parks and wild areas.

Get your BC Parks iNaturalist Project Toolkit

Do you know when the best time is to see alpine wildflowers?
Do you want to challenge your friends to a game of PARKS bingo?
Or, do you want help with getting started as a community scientist?
Enter your email below to get our iNaturalist Project toolkit sent to your inbox!

Photo by Lena Dietz Chiasson

How to collect data on BC's parks as a community scientist

1. Create a free account on iNaturalist.ca and read through their Getting Started Guide
2. Make an observation in a BC provincial park or protected area – whether you’re using a mobile phone or a digital camera, please ensure the GPS location services are turned on 
3. Upload your observation through the iNaturalist mobile app or website
4. That’s it! Your observation will be automatically uploaded to the BC Parks project

For a chance to have your observation featured in the BC Parks Foundation e-newsletter or social media, after you post on iNaturalist, share your observation on Instagram, tagging @bcnaturechallenge and #iNatBCParks.

Looking for some photography tips? Download this iNaturalist photography guide. 

Help grow the BC Parks Foundation’s community science program

Thinking of making a donation to the BC Parks Foundation? You can support community scientists collecting critical data about our local wildlife and their habitats for $39.75, or you can help researchers collect and analyze wildlife DNA samples to better understand the health, abundance, and distribution of our most treasured wildlife with a donation of $231.87. Click here to donate today - be sure to select "Wildlife Forever" under the program category.

Photo by Jason Headley