Invasive Species Council of British Columbia

For Educators

Unit: Student Land Stewards – Activity 6: Observe and Report! Contribute to Community Science

Grade: 7 to 9

Duration: 1 hour

Setting: Outdoor

Subject: Science

Physical Activity: Yes

Students contribute to science and conservation by observing nature and reporting invasive species using community science apps or web-based programs.

This is the sixth activity in the Grade 7-9 Learning Resource, Student Land Stewards in Action. Please see the Overview for this resource for more information, including the lesson sequence. 

This resource was created through the financial support of the Provincial Intermediate and Middle Years Teachers’ Association (myPITA).

Learning Objectives

By participating in this activity, students will:

  • Become part of a global community of citizen naturalists/scientists who submit their observations of the natural world and contribute to our understanding and protection of local biodiversity.
  • Identify and report invasive species in their community.
  • Use community science programs and understand how these programs help support scientific knowledge and stewardship.
Inquiry Questions
  • How can my outdoor observations help contribute to scientific knowledge and help protect biodiversity?
BC Curriculum Links

Core Competencies

  • Personal and Social- Contributing to Community and Caring for the Environment

Science Big Ideas and Content

  • Sustainability of systems (Grade 9, Content)

Science Curricular Competencies

  • Experience and interpret the local environment (Grades 7-9)
  • Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through personal or collaborative approaches. (Grades 7-9)
  • Consider social, ethical, and environmental implications of the findings from their own and others’ investigations (Grades 7-9)
  • Express and reflect on a variety of experiences and perspectives (and worldviews) of place (Grades 7-8; 9)
  • Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry (Grade 9)
  • Observe, measure, and record data, using equipment, including digital technologies (Grades 7-9)
Materials
  • Digital devices (tablets, cameras) for outdoor observations and photography
  • Digital devices (tablets, computers) and internet connection to submit observations
  • Popsicle sticks or other markers to designate observation locations (approx. 3 per student)
  • Optional: Field ID guides to help confirm observations
  • Optional tools for making observations, such as magnifiers, rulers, clipboards, paper or nature journals, and pencils for sketching

Documents to Download

  • Teacher Tips on Community Science – Compares and contrasts species ID and community science platforms including iNaturalist, Seek, Report Invasives BC, and the ISCBC website. Also included are photography tips for species identification and how to report invasive species.
Background Information

You don’t need any scientific training to contribute to the understanding and protection of the natural world—all you need is curiosity, your powers of observation, and some digital tools to report and share your sightings. Because anyone can participate, it’s known as community science or citizen science.

By participating in community science, you and your students can help report native species and detect and locate new invasive species infestations, particularly those capable of significant environmental or economic harm. By reporting what you see, you will be helping the scientific community identify and manage invasive species and protect BC’s natural spaces.

Identification apps can also help enhance student learning about biodiversity in our backyards. Learning how to observe and be curious is the most crucial step. Having field ID tools and apps that help us to identify what species we are observing allows us to dig deeper into understanding the natural world around us.

Many organizations have programs or apps that allow you to contribute to community science. Each program has specific goals and pros and cons for use with students. Due to legal privacy obligations that apply to school districts (FIPPA: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act), apps or programs that require student accounts will require your district’s approval for student use.

In this activity, we suggest ways to use technology to help with identification, share observations, and/or report invasive species: iNaturalist, Seek by iNaturalist, Report Invasives BC, and via a form on the ISCBC website. More information on each of these is provided in the Teacher Tips on Community Science found in the Materials section.

If possible, test out the programs in advance when on your own outdoors to understand how they work and determine which one will work best with your students. Although iNaturalist and Seek have lengthy user guides, don’t be intimidated! The guides are just there as references, and the programs are user-friendly.

Preparation
  • Review Teacher Tips on Community Science to decide which ID and reporting tools will work best for your group and location.
  • Optional: If you have time, try out the programs to become more familiar with them. Download the apps or visit them on their websites and make an account, if needed. Take photographs of plants and submit them online. Knowing how the programs work in advance will make things go more smoothly when you use them with students.
  • Select a location for student observations. Somewhere in the schoolyard with a variety of plants (preferably growing wild/not landscaped) can work well. Even weeds growing in the field or in the cracks in the sidewalk will reveal interesting information! Visit in advance to identify areas of interest and any hazards or areas to avoid. See the Additional Resources section for tips on outdoor learning if this is new to you and your class.
  • Gather materials that you will bring outdoors including popsicle sticks and other tools such as cameras, nature journals, field guides, and magnifiers.
Procedure
  1. Brainstorm with students some of the common organisms that they might expect to see in the area, including ones that they have noticed in the schoolyard or neighbourhood, such as squirrels, crows, sparrows, ants, pine trees, ferns, and other animals or plants they may be familiar with.
    • Optional: One way to share with students what species have actually been observed in your area is to use the Explore function in iNaturalist. You don’t need an account to do this. Go to https://www.inaturalist.org/ and click on Explore. Then write your general location or even your address in the search or use map view to zoom into the area of interest. You may need to zoom out or change the boundary of the area of interest to ensure that you are in an area where observations have been recorded.  Then click on Species. This will show you photos of the species that have been observed by iNaturalist users and the number of times each of those species has been recorded within in the search area.  It’s like having an interactive field guide to your neighbourhood!
  2. Explore and Observe. Close observation helps with identification, which makes for good reporting. Students of all ages can benefit from slowing down and looking closely at the plants and other life around them. Avoid using electronic devices and cameras at first to
    hone the senses. Magnifiers are a great way to focus attention, spark curiosity, and allow us to see new features even on familiar plants. Another way to sharpen observation skills and to get to know an organism is to try sketching it and/or describing its traits and looking it up in a field guide. See the Additional Resources section for lesson plans and resources to support outdoor learning and sensory awareness. Here is a quick warm-up activity for students to do when they first go outside.
    • Divide students into groups of 2-3.
    • Give each group 5-10 popsicle sticks. Optional: also provide magnifiers if available.
    • Set boundaries for the exploration area and let students know that they will be looking for certain living or natural objects (plants, animals, fungi, soil, etc) that meet certain descriptions. They will mark the location of the objects with their popsicle sticks.
    • Give 3-5 descriptions of natural objects to find. The descriptions should be vague enough that they are open to interpretation and require some exploration using different senses, such as objects that have a certain size, shape, texture, colour, or smell. Some examples of things to find could be something smaller than your pinky fingernail, a yellow flower, a “mystery” (leave it open to interpretation!), something that smells sweet, something that you think is beautiful, something soft, and three different leaf shapes. Optional: If you have magnifying glasses, include their use in the task, such as to find a stem with tiny hairs that you can see with your magnifying glass.
    • Share, Compare and Reflect. After students have found all the organisms that match the descriptions, direct each group to pair up with another group. Have them share and compare their findings, giving a “tour” of what they found marked at their popsicle sticks. Gather the whole class together to share what they noticed and discovered, including the interesting things that they hadn’t noticed before, even in a familiar place.
  3. Identify. The next step is to try to identify species. Have students go back to one of the organisms that they observed in the previous step, or other plants or animals of interest at the site. Students can use field guides and/or take photographs of the organism using digital cameras and use ID apps to help with identification. Encourage close observation of the organism. Consider whether the organism has features that might indicate that it is an invasive species (see below).
    • Printed field guides and ID cards are helpful on field outings and can be shared among the group. See the Additional Resources section for some suggestions. Many field guides are available for free download or from public libraries. Field guides can supplement digital apps to verify identification.
    • Digital apps like iNaturalist and Seek can make identification much easier than using field guides alone. Some ID apps have built-in algorithms to suggest IDs based on the photographs submitted, what is expected to be found in that region, or what has already been observed at your location. In iNaturalist, the species identification is verified by other iNaturalist users and experts. There are many other image-based ID tools, such as Google Lens, but the reliability of an accurate ID is lower than that of iNaturalist and Seek.
    • See Photography Tips for Community Science section in the Teacher Tips on Community Science download. Share with students.
    • Upload photos to community science/reporting apps while in the field or back in the classroom, depending on internet connectivity and the app used.
    • Some Characteristics of Invasive Species
      • Invasive plants are diverse and come in all sizes, shapes, growth forms, and colours. But some features to look out for that may be a “red flag” indicating that a plant might be invasive include a plant:
      • With thorns or prickles (keeps herbivores away)
      • Growing as a monoculture/dominating a large area
      • With seeds spread by the wind
      • With sticky/hairy seeds or burrs that may hitch a ride on your clothing or animal fur
      • That is the first to grow or flower in spring (many invasive plants get a head start on native species)
      • Growing in disturbed or rocky sites, or even through asphalt
  4. Report Invasive Species. Once we hone our observation skills, we notice our surroundings more and how the environment changes day by day or through the seasons. When on our daily walks or visiting the places we most often frequent, like schoolyards, parks, sidewalks/roadsides and along walking routes, we may see a plant that looks out of place or an unfamiliar creature. This may be a new introduction or spread of an invasive species. Early detection and reporting are key to protecting native biodiversity and preventing the harmful impacts of invasive species. You can report invasive species that you observe in a variety of ways, including through iNaturalist observations, Report Invasives BC or on the ISCBC website. See the Reporting Invasive Species Tips in the Teacher Tips on Community Science document for more information on each of these options.
Reflections and Assessment
  • What did you observe that surprised you or that you found interesting?
  • Name and describe three species that you observed. Were any of them invasive species?
  • How can your observations of biodiversity contribute to scientific knowledge and stewardship?
Accessibility and Adaptations
  • Connect to nature outdoors without using technology. If preferred, focus on making observations and using field guides to help with identification. Instead of taking photographs, make sketches of plants or animals. (Visit John Muir Laws’ website, Nature Stewardship for Science, Education and Art, for tips and video tutorials on nature sketching and journalling with students.)
  • To engage some students, assign roles like carrying field guides and other equipment and materials.
  • Have a local expert or Indigenous knowledge keeper join you on your field outing to help with species identification. Adult nature clubs like local chapters of BC Nature and regional invasive species organizations may have volunteers or education programs that can support your efforts.
  • Use the Amazing Adaptations Hunt activity’s checklist when making observations and considering whether or not a plant might have properties indicating it could be an invasive species.
Extensions
  • Explore iNaturalist observations in the classroom using the Explore feature. Zoom in using the Map view to your region and check out the biodiversity that’s been found there. Click on Species, to see photos of the organisms observed within the map boundary. Go back to the iNaturalist Map and explore another region of BC, Canada, or the world to see what species have been observed there. Compare and contrast biodiversity observations from different regions.
  • Organize a Bioblitz! A bioblitz is a communal effort to record as many species as possible within a designated location and time period. A bioblitz is a fun way to engage your students and the greater community to connect with their environment and generate valuable data for science and conservation. Here are some tips on how to organize a bioblitz using iNaturalist.
  • Sample Schoolyard Biodiversity and quantify the abundance and diversity of different types of plants along a line (transect) or inside hula hoops. Compare and contrast the diversity of various habitats and their native and invasive species. See a quick ISCBC video tutorial in the Sampling Biodiversity Activity.
Connections to First Peoples’ Perspectives

“14,000 years of Stewardship”. Indigenous Guardians are experts who manage lands and waters on behalf of their Nations. Guardians are keen observers connected to the land and who have knowledge passed down from generations. The work of the Guardians is rooted in Indigenous knowledge and culture. They monitor animals and plants, manage protected areas, and foster stewardship in their territories based on a cultural responsibility for the land. Because Guardians’ work is rooted in Indigenous knowledge and culture, they help communities heal from the trauma of colonialism, including residential schools. Watch a video about the Coastal Guardian Watchman Program in BC (6:25). Compare and contrast the work of the Guardians and that of community scientists.

Additional Resources

Outdoor Learning and Sensory Awareness

iNaturalist Links

Seek

Report Invasives BC

  • Website to download the app and video tutorial.

Some Suggested BC Field Guides for Students (Books and ID Cards)