Friends and family will find eco-logical fun afoot all around the St. Louis region* while participating in StepOut with iNaturalist!
With the fabulous nature exploration app iNaturalist on your smart phones and this map to Nearby Nature Places to Love, you can discover new plant, critter, and natural community friends while your observations add to a regional atlas of biodiversity data. Your nature observations made during iNaturalist StepOut will boost these community science contributions with social media energy. Utilize iNaturalist to grow your circle of ecological friends anywhere, anytime
Nearby Nature Places to Love
Where can you go to explore biodiversity, assured of a nature-rich experience? Missouri Botanical Garden has curated a map of great locations on the Missouri and Illinois sides of our region. Sites range from public parks to state and local conservation areas to institutional and company campuses that are publicly accessible. Each location is maintained to cultivate biodiversity. The number, geographic distribution, ecological quality, and diverse character of such places in our region is amazing! Be sure to follow each site’s safety policies and procedures. If you can’t get out to one our region’s unique nature sites, you can still participate in your backyard! Let’s do this, St. Louis!
Participation is easy:
- Download the free iNaturalist app from Google Play or Apple App store.
- Take photos of plants, animals, insects, and other life forms this Summer (August 8–14) and Fall (October 10–16). You can do this anywhere across the bi-state region. This is a great chance to visit a natural space you’ve been waiting to explore! Use this Nearby Nature Map as a reference to find nearby nature sites.
- Help us spread the word! Invite a friend or family member to tag along. Create new memories together while observing nature in your community.
That’s it—you’ve helped grow the region’s urban biodiversity inventory with your photos! And you’ve had fun along the way!
*Counties representing the greater St. Louis region: Missouri—Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Warren; Illinois—Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Monroe, St. Clair.