iPad apps for Nature-Lovers

At first, it might seem a little odd for me to be recommending iPad apps on a green blog. After all, shouldn't I be espousing "The Great Outdoors" and the importance of unplugging from technology? I'll grant you that there are several iPad (and iPhone) apps that are, supposedly, about the environment, but many of them are just gimmicky games that use nature only as a backdrop. The following apps don't fall into that category. Instead, they're educational or inspirational (sometimes, both)--they'll either teach you more about the earth and its inhabitants, or they'll get you outside and exploring more of nature, instead of growing your own roots on the couch!

NatureTap by Green Mountain Digital. Free for iPad and iPhone.

This app is a great educational tool for all ages. My children (5 and 8) both enjoy it, as do I (way past age 8). There's a section called "Free Birds" (cue the Lynyrd Skynyrd), in which you can choose from a large selection of birds, sort them out by color, and find out where they live, what they eat, and even what they sound like (there's a "Listen" button). I found the sound feature particularly interesting, as I was able to learn which birds were making the calls that I've been hearing in my own back yard for years now. (So that's what a black-capped chickadee sounds like!) The games section is also well-done, with a sound game to guess the birdcall among four likely suspects; a Photo Quiz to identify species; and a Memory Challenge, which my five-year-old really loved.You can learn about other wildlife (insects and spiders, reptiles and amphibians, wildflowers and more) for a small price, but so far, we're still really hooked on the birds.

National Parks by National Geographic Society. Free for iPad and iPhone.

With absolutely stunning photography (sponsored by Canon, so no surprise there), National Geographic presents twenty of the most-visited national parks in the United States. For each park, you can find out the weather, visitor stats, history, highlights, and most important: how to visit the park. If you'd like further information on any particular park, you can download more detailed packages, also free of charge. But until you do get there, the spectacular photos on this app can tide you over.

Leafsnap by Columbia University, University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution. Free for iPad and iPhone.

This electronic field guide uses visual recognition software to help you identify trees from photographs of their leaves. Not only can you snap your own photo and figure out what you're looking at, but it also comes with a detailed gallery for browsing. The most helpful feature (for me, anyway), is that when you select a leaf from the "Browse" gallery, it shows you clear photographs of what it looks like from the front, the back, and on the branch, along with several photos of the flowers, plus the fruit and the bark. Expertly researched and clearly presented, this app saves you from lugging along multiple field guides in your backpack on your next hike.

iRecycle by Earth911.com. Free for iPad and iPhone.

I can't, in good conscience, present a list of green apps without including a good recycling resource, and this one fits the bill. Whether you're trying to recycle batteries, hazardous waste, automotive parts, or electronics (along with eight other categories), you can find out where to take your item in your local area. Each category is extensively sub-categorized, so no matter what you've got on hand that you want to dispose of responsibly, you'll be able to do it easily with this app.

iZenGarden by Random Ideas, LLC. $4.99 for iPad.

Although there is a free version of this app (iZenGarden Lite), the paid version is well worth the price for the much broader selection of elements. If you can't get outside (say you're on a plane), you might as well be able to "play" with natural elements and relax thoroughly at the same time. While listening to chimes, you can select butterflies (which really flutter around!) to populate your garden, as well as beautiful shells, leaves, stones, flowers, plants, and fossils. It just might inspire you to create a real Zen garden, once the plane lands.

Green Up by isygames. $1.99 for iPad and iPhone.

This is another app for when you can't actually get outdoors, because I think the best education for kids about how to grow plants is to actually plant them and nurture them day to day. But anyway, this app is interesting for children who are old enough to read. It gives them a real sense of what it takes to grow a plant (beyond sunlight and water, this app touches on subjects like pollination and fertilization) and how long the growth cycle will take from seed to bloom. (Helpful clue for kids: Not overnight!) Hopefully, it will inspire a trip to the nursery for seeds or seedlings, to grow the real thing.

Project Noah by Networked Organisms LLC. Free for iPad and iPhone.

Venturing back outdoors again, this app is perfect for connecting with other nature-lovers. Post a photo of flora or fauna that you cannot identify, and others within the community will help you figure it out. It's like a field guide and a field trip in one neat little package.

Al Gore -- Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis by Push Pop Press, Inc. $4.99 for iPad and IPhone.

Winner of the 2011 Apple Design Award, this app is an excellent example of how iPad technology has taken books to soaring new heights. You can simply read this book, or you can click on mini-movies within the pages, or expand graphs for further information, or use an interative map to see the location being discussed. And that's just the tip of the iceberg (sorry, couldn't resist). This really is a book for the future, in its message and mission, as well as in its format.

Expect to see more features in the future about iPad apps for nature-lovers. (If you come across nature apps that inspire or educate you, please let us know about them in the comments section below.) With a selection as good as the ones above, I'm hooked on learning everything I can about the world around me--near and far!

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