iNaturalist at the CGC
At the Civic Garden Center, we believe that observing the natural world is the first step toward protecting it. While our Community Herbarium preserves physical specimens, we use iNaturalist to capture a living digital record of the biodiversity thriving right here in our urban spaces.
Through the simple act of photography, anyone—from a first-time visitor to a seasoned volunteer—can contribute to a global database of life through iNaturalist. This tool is a vital part of our environmental education and community science efforts, allowing us to see exactly which pollinators and other creatures our garden work is supporting. It helps us learn the names and stories of the diverse species that share our Hauck Botanic Garden home.
BioBlitzes
The heart of our iNaturalist initiative is the BioBlitz, an intensive period of biological surveying where our community works together to document as many species as possible. In 2025, volunteers began exploring our very own gardens in a new way, documenting the incredible variety of life that calls our urban grounds home.
Because of the success of these programs, we plan to host more frequent BioBlitz events on our grounds. (Want us to loop you in? Sign up as a CGC volunteer!) These events are a cornerstone of our environmental education strategy, supporting our community science goals by allowing participants to collect data in new ways through photography and allowing our community to understand exactly what is growing and what life it sustains. Whether you’re photographing a rare native bee or a common garden weed, your observations help us understand the health of our local ecosystem!
Building a Historical Archive
The data we collect today is more than just a list of sightings; it’s a historical archive for the future. By consistently documenting the plants and wildlife at the CGC, we’re creating a baseline that future stewards will use to see how our environment changes over time.
Join Our Project!
We encourage you to exercise your community scientist muscle, because in addition to helping with everything explained above, knowing the name of a plant or creature is an important part of building a lifelong connection with nature! Getting started as a community scientist is easy. Follow these steps to join our digital archive:
DOWNLOAD & SIGN UP: Download the free iNaturalist app on your smartphone or visit inaturalist.org to create an account.
JOIN THE PROJECT: Visit our official project page: Civic Garden Center Biodiversity. Once you’re there, click the JOIN button to ensure your observations on our grounds are automatically added to our collection.
SNAP A PHOTO: The next time you’re at the CGC or out in Hauck Botanic Garden, use the app to take a photo of a plant, insect, or animal.
SHARE & LEARN: Upload your observation! The app’s community and AI will help you identify the species, and your data will officially become part of our historical record.