1. Open iNaturalist in a web browser and log in to your account.
2. Select ‘Projects’ on the far right side of the blue tabs under your main profile picture icon.
Once you click on the icon you’ll be taken to ‘Your Projects’ page. You should see the ACF Nature Near You project listed here. If you don’t, please see previous instructions on how to ‘Join the ACF Nature Near You Project’.
3. Select ‘Start a Project’ and select ‘Collection’ project from the two options (Collection and Umbrella)
4. Fill in the name of your project (e.g. ACF X Group NatureNearYou). You have the option to upload an icon (e.g. your ACF Community Group Logo) and a banner image if you wish.
5. Be sure to select your project’s observation requirements (what photos are allowed to be included). You should constrain the observation requirements to Australia (search ‘Australia’ and select from the drop-down menu in ‘Include Places’ search bar. Alternatively, you can further constrain your location to a specific local park, state or other geographic location.
6. Be sure to check the box ‘Only display observations from project members (people who have joined the project)’ box.
7. Select your data requirements. We recommend selecting ‘Research Grade, Needs ID and Casual’ under Data Quality; ‘Any’ under Media; and ‘Any’ under Establishment Means (see image below).
8. Select the ‘Dates Observed’ (i.e. when photos can be posted to your project). If you are organising a specific time-bounded event (e.g. Bush-walk) you can make this a specific day, or for an ongoing project keep it ‘open’ for the whole year. For ongoing projects without a start or end date we recommend you select ‘Any’. (You can change or update these settings any time).
9. Add any additional Admins for the project. Admins are iNaturalist users who will be able to edit the project. To be added as an Admin to a project you first need to join it. It helps if you know what their name is on iNaturalist. You can also add these or change them at any time.