ecoEXPLORE
ecoEXPLORE 101
ecoEXPLORE (Experiences Promoting Learning Outdoors for Research and Education) is an incentive-based community science program for children in grades K-8. Developed by The North Carolina Arboretum, this innovative program combines science exploration with kid-friendly technology to foster a fun learning environment for children while encouraging them to explore the outdoors and participate in community science.
What is community science?
Community Science encourages volunteers of any age to collect and submit scientific information to real life scientists, which will assist in their research and data analysis. Scientists around the world need help collecting data. By becoming a community scientist, participants can help professional scientists understand changes in the environment and see how these changes impact plants, animals and other natural resources.
How to EXPLORE
See It!
After signing up online, participants go outside in their own backyard or at designated ecoEXPLORE HotSpots to find wildlife species, including plants, reptiles, amphibians, insects and birds.
Snap It!
Participants can use their own device (or borrow one from an adult) to photograph wildlife while noting the date, location, time, and species observed.
Share It!
Participants then log into their ecoEXPLORE profile online and submit their “share” or observation. Arboretum staff will then review the data and submit all approved submissions to the iNaturalist Network, which is used by real scientists!
Where to EXPLORE
ecoEXPLORE is a North Carolina-based program, but you can submit observations from anywhere in the world. The North Carolina Arboretum is both the lead institution of the ecoEXPLORE, and is the hub for the Mountain Region.
The Greensboro Science Center is the hub for our Northern Piedmont Region.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences serves as both the Central Region Hub from Prairie Ridge Ecostation; and their Whiteville location as the Southern Coastal Region Hub.
This program is free of charge to all children and families in North Carolina. Non-North Carolina residents are also welcome to attend programs, post observations and earn badges but are not permitted to earn prizes at this time.
How we use iNaturalist
ecoEXPLORE partners closely with iNaturalist to help young scientists document the plants and animals they discover. Because many of our participants are minors, ecoEXPLORE uses a special, staff-approved way of contributing to iNaturalist that keeps youth safe while ensuring high-quality data for science.
With permission from iNaturalist staff, ecoEXPLORE maintains one iNaturalist account for each county in North Carolina. When a young participant makes a strong observation, trained staff or adult volunteers may upload the photo to the appropriate county account. Each observation includes the participant’s ecoEXPLORE username so they receive credit for their discovery.
This system was developed in conversation with iNaturalist leadership and follows all iNaturalist Terms of Service. It allows children who are not able to manage their own iNaturalist accounts to still contribute meaningfully to community science—while keeping their personal information private and secure. ecoEXPLORE remains committed to ethical nature observation, accurate species documentation, and protecting the privacy of every young naturalist.