Community Challenge
A community challenge is a self-paced, shared activity that invites people to explore nature, gather observations, or focus on seasonal themes. Participation is optional, flexible, and ongoing, making it a welcoming entry point into community science.
iNaturalist
iNaturalist is a community science platform where people photograph living things and upload observations to support species identification. Every verified sighting contributes to global biodiversity data while helping learners explore the natural world around them.
Library iNaturalist Project
A library project collects observations made within a defined boundary and updates automatically. It acts as a running record of community-discovered biodiversity.
Montana Field Guide
The Montana Field Guide provides publicly available information about Montana species, including identification characteristics, habitat, range maps, behaviors, and conservation details. It is an authoritative reference for learning about local wildlife.
Seasonal Rotation or Seasonal Observation
Many of these programs suggest rotating content based on the seasons because observation opportunities vary depending on which plants and animals are around at certain times of year. Rotate the materials in your display, or on bingo cards based on what is observable in your environment.
Here are some seasonal ideas to get you started:
Seek
Seek by iNaturalist is a kid-friendly, real-time identification app designed for children under 13, families, and beginners. Using the device camera, Seek instantly identifies plants, insects, fungi, and animals without requiring an account or login, making it safe and accessible for young learners.
It is important to note that Seek does not upload images or data to iNaturalist. Observations made in Seek remain on the device and do not contribute automatically to community science or to your library’s iNaturalist project. To add a Seek discovery to a library iNaturalist project, the image needs to be saved and sent to someone with an iNaturalist account to manually upload the photo.
