BioCaching

BioCaching: Rediscover Nature

BioCaching puts the power to conduct a biodiversity resurvey in your hands. Search for and revisit places where plants and animals have been observed in your community, or anywhere in the world. By using this app you will update our knowledge of current biodiversity distributions.

Our app works together with iNaturalist (an online platform for recording and sharing biodiversity observations). Learn more about the iNaturalist community and sign-up to the platform at http://www.inaturalist.org (you can also sign-up through the BioCaching app if you're not already a member).

With one click, you will see all of the plants and animals that have been observed around you. Next, choose previously observed species that you can recognize and would like to try and resurvey. You are now ready to conduct a ‘trip’, attempting to re-document those species. Start looking and record whether or not you are able to relocate each frog, toad, tree, bee, spider, shrub or whatever comes up on your list. If you find what you are looking for, record new field observations. Your entire trip and your finds will be recorded on iNaturalist.org and all verified reports will become new records available to scientists. The BioCaching app is a concrete way for you to connect with nature and bear witness to habitat loss and biodiversity change.

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The BioCaching app, was developed and designed by Andy Jeffrey in partnership with the California Academy of Sciences Library, Academy Citizen Science and iNaturalist and was funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Studies National Leadership Grant, Connecting Content: A Collaboration to Link Field Notes to Specimens and Published Literature, LG- 05-010-0048.