Documenting Biodiversity: The Soup-to-Nuts of Community Science

Wildlife is everywhere in DC—and no one sees it more closely than our partners at City Wildlife, whose teams care for thousands of injured and orphaned animals each year. Local photographers also play a key role by documenting wildlife and sharing images on community science platforms like iNaturalist and eBird. But how can you make your wildlife photos even more useful to science and conservation?

Join us for this free workshop led by Dr. Brian Wee, Science Lead for the DC Bird Alliance, in partnership with City Wildlife. Through live demonstrations, Brian will guide you through:

• Field photography techniques for birds and small invertebrates
• How to organize and manage large collections of photos
• Geotagging and basic photo-editing essentials
• Best practices for submitting images to iNaturalist and eBird
• Tips for responsibly using automated image classifiers

Eric Falquero, co-founder of The 51st, is slated to co-facilitate the workshop. Eric will initiate discussions about the personal and ethical challenges of following the evidence wherever it leads, both for bird species ID using field observations, and for personal and professional inquiries. This workshop also integrates insights from prior DCBA sessions led by Brian and fellow DCBA Flock Star, Mark Sledziewski, connecting equipment and technique with how wildlife data informs real conservation decisions.

Whether you're a nature enthusiast, a community scientist, or a supporter of City Wildlife’s mission, this workshop will help you turn your wildlife images into powerful tools for biodiversity research.

Learn more about our partner, City Wild Life, and their work to protect and advocate for wildlife, here.