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BCnature Winter 20224President’s Perch Author - Alan E. BurgerNature viewing and digital reporting Digital reporting of what we see in nature has become critical in establishing data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature. They are also great learning tools to find out names of flora and fauna you do not recognize.Here are some great tutorials that will get you started using these great tools: iNaturalist - https://bit.ly/3UYv9E9ebird - https://bit.ly/3UYBujeOn December 7th, around the time you read this magazine, the world’s attention will be focused on Montreal – specifically the World Bio-diversity Summit COP15, held in conjunction with the COP27 Climate Sum-mit. I find these summits on climate change and loss of biodiversity both en-couraging and depressing. Encouraging because they bring media spotlights on the two greatest problems facing human civilization and the natural environment reviewed by experts to confirm identifications. Young that we cherish and that keeps us alive. Depressing because the promises that politicians make at these summits are almost never kept. Our Canadian lead-ers are among the worst in this respect. In addition to relentless pressure on our elected leaders to keep their promises, what can we ordinary people do to contribute to the solutions?Regarding biodiversity there is much we can do; documenting and mapping our local biodiversity is a major contribution. Fortunately, there are now powerful tools for non-experts to apply, like the online apps iNaturalist and eBird. I am a late starter with iNaturalist but I have contributed to eBird for many years. In Canada over 173,000 people are signed up on iNaturalist and they have already contributed almost 9 5, 00,000 records covering 34,600 species. And this is just the start. The potential applications of these datasets are staggering. Information on distribution, abundance and trends are the key elements for conservation or management of wild organisms, and these citizen-science apps are providing masses of essential data. BC Nature is at the forefront of applying these apps to conservation science. Many of our members are already using iNaturalist or eBird. With funding from the BC Government, BC Nature is working with University of Victoria biologists and geographers to optimize the use of iNaturalist to provide essential information on species distributions, community composition, population trends and other key data needed for intelligent management of our biodiversity. On another front, we have signed an agreement of collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada to take the lead in identifying and mapping Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in BC. This agreement allows BC Nature’s IBA/KBA Coordinator Liam Ragan to upgrade from part-time to a full-time position. iNaturalist and eBird will be key tools in the KBA initiative. In both new projects, members of our 50+ clubs around the province are the major strength that BC Nature provides. Best of all, these apps are fun – they do not require high-level tech skills (even I can use them!) and you don’t have to be an expert biologist to identify the species you record. The online records are people are the most concerned about their future environment and these apps can get them outdoors using their phones for something meaningful. So check out iNaturalist – we are planning club workshops to help you get going. We can make a difference to understanding and maintaining our biodiversity.Another exciting development within BC Nature is the appointment(s) of a youth member to our Board of Directors. Nothing prevents young members from standing for any Board position, but few have done so. With a specific youth director , we are looking sforward to adding dimensions to Board decisions and future BC Nature projects. We have received four excellent applications for this position – people with very impressive skills, experience and enthusiasm. Thank you for your commitments! More details to come. Ω