Hawkesbury-Nepean BioBlitz

Join our 2024 Biodiversity Blitz!

Put on your citizen scientist hat and help us update our biodiversity list for our next River Health Report Card.

By snapping and submitting photos with the iNaturalist app when you are out and about on or near the river you will be providing us with an insight into who shares these spaces with us in our local waterways. A collection of the most unique biodiversity photos captured will also be featured on our Hawkesbury-Nepean Waterkeeper Alliance Facebook page.

When: Friday 20th September to Monday 23rd September (as part of the Great Southern BioBlitz)
Where: Anywhere along the Hawkesbury-Nepean River *

How to participate in our BioBlitz:

  1. Download the iNaturalist app and search for the “HNWA BioBlitz 2024” project.
  2. Once you have joined, head down to the Hawkesbury-Nepean River (or its surrounding creeks, tributaries or wetlands) in your local area between 20th - 23rd September.
  3. Snap, ID and submit your photos of the wildlife and plants you find using the iNaturalist app. Be sure to include when and where you found them.

* The work on the HNWA primarily relates to the section of the river between Warragamba Dam and Wisemans Ferry which includes the lands of the Dharawal, Gundungurra, Dharug and Darkinyung Nations. We are however accepting submissions catchment wide!

Tips to get started

When you are participating in our BioBlitz, there are two ways you can submit your data to us (using the iNaturalist app):

  1. Upload Immediately Throughout the Event: You can snap and upload your photos through the iNaturalist app anytime throughout the event. We recommend this!
  2. Snap First, Upload Later: If you are using your camera app on your phone to snap first and then upload later via the app, you will need ensure your phone camera settings are enabled with geotagging and import each individual entry.

Turn on Location Services: To make sure your photos are geotagged and count towards the dataset, you need to enable location services for the iNaturalist app. This is really important as we want to know where in the catchment these species are occuring. Here's how to do it for both Android and iPhone:

Android iPhone
  1. Go to your phone's Settings app.
  2. Tap on "Location" or "Location services" (depending on your device).
  3. Make sure the Location switch is turned on.
  4. Find the iNaturalist app in your list of apps.
  5. Tap on it and select "Allow all the time" or "While using the app" for location permission.
  1. Go to your iPhone's Settings app.
  2. Tap on "Privacy."
  3. Tap on "Location Services."
  4. Make sure the Location Services switch is turned on.
  5. Scroll down and find the iNaturalist app.
  6. Tap on it and select "While Using the App" for location permission.

Need more help? Learn more about iNaturalist and prepare yourself ahead of our BioBlitz, please watch this video on how people use iNaturalist. iNaturalist is a one-stop shop to explore the natural world around you and contribute to scientific discovery! It's a powerful combination of a nature observation app and a vibrant online community.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/kUyFBeTz1zM?si=gvvT8MdeQS_fWUxm