Observation #1000
Just made iNaturalist upload #1000! I almost missed it actually, I've been uploading old photos and thought I'd check to see where I was up to, good thing I did because I was at exactly 1000!
So it turns our that todays milestone observation is Eucalyptus obliqua!
Now I admit, this ones a bit of an odd one, there are little to no identification points in my photos (very difficult to get photos when all the details are 50+ meters up in the air!) but its a semi famous tree, which has an ID sign (which I included in the upload). This one is kinda more of a me thing; tracking the big/famous trees I've visited rather than a citizen science thing, but that does atleast lead me to why I have been uploading old photos, because as I said at #500, I can't pass up an education opportunity! XD
I'm a bit prolific when it comes to nature photography and I've got digital photos dating back to 2007 and if you know the date of a photo and a close approximation to where it was taken, then you absolutely can and should upload them! Photos dating back to 2007 are now 15 years old, and, apart from making me feel old... can be useful for bushland regenerators and scientists to see how areas have changed. Maybe there was a lot of moist soil species in the area before and now there are none, but there were no species records from the time so no one knew! Or maybe there used to be a rare orchid but now there are large and thick shrubs in the spot now, photo evidence could support regenerators in their decision to remove the the shrubs and encourage any seed potentially still in the soil to germinate.
The possible uses are endless really! I personally found some photos from a TAFE excursion I went on in 2008 to a reserve I've worked in over the past 5 months and it has been fascinating to see the differences!
I encourage you all to go on a trip down memory lane and get uploading! But do make sure that you are confident on the location of your subject, and if you are scanning in film photos, be confident on the date too!
Fun facts: the Eucalyptus obliqua below is 62 meters tall (it used to be taller but the top broke off) and 16 meters around the base (which is unusually large). E. obliqua can get as tall as 90 meters which they usually reach at around 150 years old, but can live much much longer!
Obervation #1000: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/125141411
