The Grinnell System is designed to aid scientific investigation. It is the method most often used by professional biologists and field naturalists. The method was developed by Joseph Grinnell (1877-1939), a field naturalist, professor and the first director of the University of California's Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. We will use a modified version of the Grinnell System to concentrate on observation skills. All observations will be uploaded and recorded into iNaturalist,
In the field: We will explore a recovered wetland along the Rio Grande River. You will be required to digitally collect, identify, and observe at least 15 organisms using the Grinnell System and record each entry in the iNaturalist app.
Every entry should contain this information:
- Start time (use 24-hour clock format, aka Military Time. Ie: 14:35 for 2:35p.m.)
- End time (also 24 –hour format)
- Date (use international format: 03 September 2013)
- Locality (place, usually the county and the distance from a "permanent" marker of some sort is included (ft or m from a crossroads etc.)
- Route (how did you get there and from where-- include in your first entry)
- Weather (temperature, cloud types, wind, rain, etc.)
- Habitat (backyard, type of forest, etc.)
- Species describe if you can't identify
- General notes on insects animals, plants, and their interaction-- competition or partnerships?
- Photo(s)
- Time Spent (in minutes)
In the library: When we return from the field trip, you verify one another's observation's using a field guide in order to level observations to "research grade". After which, you list each organism you found by it's taxonomies into an excel sheet using iNaturalist's "List" in the desktop dashboard.
