iNat Together 2026
How to Participate Event Finder Why Participate Help Identify Spread the Word
How to Participate
iNat Together is a global campaign happening September 18–28, 2026, inviting iNatters everywhere to get outside with other people — friends, family, or fellow community members — and turn nature-watching into a shared experience. Here's how to take part:
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However you take part, the goal is the same: don't observe alone. This is your sign to find your nature friends, new or existing.
This isn't a numbers game.
iNat Together is all about showing up for each other — not racking up observations or winning a leaderboard. A slow walk where you help a friend make their first observation counts just as much as a bioblitz with hundreds of species. Show up, be present, and focus on the people you're with as much as the nature around you.
Find an Event Near You
Enter your location and choose a search radius, and the tool below will show any iNat Together events happening nearby.
- See an event you like? Click through to its project page and read the full About section — that's where you'll find the details on how to participate, where to meet, what to bring, and if you need to register. Also check the Project Requirements section: if it says "Project Members Only," you'll need to join the project before your observations can be included, so go ahead and join before the event.
- Have questions about an event? Click the host's username under the event listing to message them directly from their iNaturalist profile.
- No events nearby? Join the iNat Together 2026 Open Project and go iNatting with the people you already know — and make sure everyone you're heading out with joins the project too.
Why Participate
Behind every username on iNaturalist is a real person: someone who gets excited about some of the same tiny, strange, beautiful things you do. iNat Together is about turning those usernames into friends.
We know great things happen when iNatters meet in real life. We've heard about research collaborations coming together over a shared observation, regular iNatting outings that started as one meetup and never stopped, and even lifelong friendships that began with two people crouched over the same beetle. There's something powerful about finding other iNatters who care about what you care about — whether that's mushrooms, or slime molds, or wildflowers, or nudibranchs, or springtails, or just nature in general — and getting to share that in person instead of just through photos and comments.
It's also one of the best ways to grow the community. Someone getting introduced to iNaturalist by a friend, a family member, or someone from their local community tends to stick around, because it's not just an app being recommended to them, it's you, sharing why iNat matters to you and walking them through their first few observations. That kind of introduction is hard to replicate any other way.
Give Back: Help Identify
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Connecting with other iNatters doesn't have to end when the walk does. Identifying observations is an online activity, but it's still a real way to connect with the community and give back — and it's a great thing to do together. After a day of iNatting with friends, consider sitting down together to work through identifications from your outing (or anyone else's!). Help Identify iNat Together Observations This won't show results until the campaign begins on September 18, but you can help identify other observations until then! New to identifying? The easiest place to start is with observations that don't have an ID yet. Add whatever level of ID you're confident about — it doesn't need to be all the way down to species. "Monarch" is great, but "Butterflies and Moths," "Insects," or even just "Animals" all help move an observation forward. Every bit of identification helps. |
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Help Spread the Word!
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Let's get more people outside for iNat Together … together! Here are some ways you can help spread the word:
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