Help AMC Scientists Research the Effects of Climate Change on Wildflowers

During National Wildflower Week, we want to let you know about an exciting opportunity to help AMC with research about wildflower distribution and the effects of climate change on wildflowers. All you have to do is download the iNaturalist app on your phone and start uploading photos of wildflowers on your outdoor adventures. iNaturalist is an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature. You create an account, upload images of species you see, and identify those species with the help of machine learning and other users. AMC's Research Department uses iNaturalist to collect data about plants and animals. These data contribute to AMC's scientific papers about the timing of ecological events like flowering and spring leaf out. With this information, AMC and other scientists can understand how climate change is affecting species and which areas will be most vulnerable in the future.

How to Get Started

Researchers use data that have been compiled into collections, known as projects. Once you create your iNaturalist account, you can join any or all of AMC's projects. After you join a project, you can add your observations directly to that project, making it easy for our researchers to access the data you've collected. There will be a series of questions about the observation you uploaded. AMC's projects are: (1) Flowers and Fauna along the Appalachian Trail Corridor, (2) AMC Maine Woods, (3) Northeast Alpine Flower Watch, (4) New England Trail Nature Watch, and (5) Flowers and Fauna in Harriman State Park, NY. To join one of AMC's projects, log onto iNaturalist, find the Projects page, and enter the name of the project you'd like to join in the search bar. That project should pop up, and you will then be able to click on the project and select Join.

The AMC 150 iNaturalist Challenge

Challenge yourself to earn a limited-edition patch by registering and adding 150 observations to the iNaturalist app in 2026! From there, we'll be reaching out to request your iNaturalist username so we can stay up to date on your progress. For help with the app, here are some resources from iNaturalist.