Five Must Have Apps For the Everyday Explorer
If Darwin could see the bird and plant identification power in our phones, his head might explode. And while reconnecting with nature without the distraction of technology is vital to our wellbeing, the tools at our fingertips are unparalleled in their ability to teach us about the world around us.
According to this article by Ben Spencer for the Daily Mail:
Only one in 50 people were able to identify five varieties of tree
5 percent could identify five common shrubs, and 34 percent recognized five common wildflowers
That is worrying.
Part of being an everyday explorer is to follow your curiosity and gain knowledge. In doing so, you add depth and richness to your life. You improve your relationship with the natural world.
Here are my favorite nature apps to help you become an everyday explorer:
1. Merlin
Merlin blew my mind (and ears) the first time I used it. This is the next level of bird identification, performed by turning bird songs into graphs that match almost instantly with an expansive database. The app is easy to use, and you can save the birds to your account, building your personal database of bird knowledge.
Explorer Challenge: spend 15 minutes walking around your yard or neighborhood recording. Take another 15 minutes to read about each bird the app recorded.
Were you surprised by the results?
How do you feel now that you know the birds? Can you keep using the app until you can identify the type of bird by ear alone?
2. PlantNet Plant Identification
There’s a reason PlantNet is the New York Times #1 Rated Plant Identification App. With this single app, you can identify flowering plants, trees, grasses, conifers, ferns, vines, wild salads, cacti (and many more). I used PlantNet nonstop while studying for my master gardener’s course. It’s straightforward, robust, and very accurate.
Explorer Challenge: Use the app to identify more than five common wildflowers, and five shrubs. Did you do it? Congrats! Now you know more than 98% of the people in the BBC’s survey. Keep going!
Seek by iNaturalist is another great app for plant descriptions and identification. If you want an accurate app but are also motivated by challenges and levels/badges, or “gamifying” your nature knowledge, Seek is the app for you.
Explorer Challenge: download the free Seek by iNaturalist app and spend 15 minutes walking around your yard or neighborhood. What did you learn?
4. TreeID
If I aren’t into Seek or PlantNet, I’d try TreeID, another free app to help you identify more of the world around you. I don’t see a difference in the database or identifying ability—it’s more about the user experience for which app you prefer.
Explorer Challenge: use TreeID to identify more than five trees and study them so that you commit them to memory. Now, again, you’re doing better than the 98% who can’t identify
Living in Philadelphia, I need my nature fix when I can get it. Funny name aside, Oh, Ranger! gets the job done when I’m looking for a new park to explore, or a nearby nature area a short drive away. It’s great for work trips or vacations as well.
Explorer Challenge: Once a month, use the app to pick a new park to explore. That’s 12 new parks each year that you can add to your life experience list.
BONUS APP:
SkyGuide will change the way you view your place in the universe. The app is easy to use but also presents you with a massive amount of information. I prefer SkyGuide because of its use of over 37,000 exclusive photos. The app is built in a way that it's very intuitive to use from the start—they even provide a tutorial to help orient you to the app…and the cosmos.