What is the iScience program?

iScience is DLiA’s schoolyard biodiversity program in cooperation with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The program aims to increase awareness of and appreciation for the incredible biodiversity around us, as well as foster young people’s interest in STEM fields. This program uses the ATBI (All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory) model, bringing ATBIs to schoolyards within the TVA iScience Program Area (see map below). Students conduct ATBIs at their schools using iNaturalist, acting as community scientists and collecting real scientific data about their local biodiversity. We currently have 27 partner schools and hope to add more in the coming years.

Click the Participants tab to see a list of schools participating in iScience and check out our Umbrella Project on iNaturalist to see what they’ve found!

Who is eligible?

• The iScience program is available to individual classes as well as schools
• The program is available for students in grades 5-8
• Eligible schools must be located within the TVA’s iScience Program Area, which includes Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia
• Check to see if your school’s county falls within this area: eligible counties are shown in pink on the map below

Responsibilities of school/educator

• complete the online application below to register your project with DLiA
• commit to 3 years of the iScience program
• conduct 2 flora and fauna forays (bioblitzes) per year of the school grounds or alternative site
• set up project on iNaturalist
• upload an average of 3 iNaturalist observations per student annually to your project
• at least once per year, invite a local scientist or nature enthusiast to speak to your class about some group of organisms (insects, plants, mushrooms, birds, etc.)
• submit an annual project report of findings to iNaturalist’s social media community

DLiA & TVA will provide

• classroom kits (tablets with iNaturalist app and backpacks with useful equipment; limit 1 per school)
• resources such as how-to webinars, workshops, instructional guides, etc.
• conference calls
• assistance with project setup on iNaturalist, species identification, etc.

A note about children using iNaturalist

iNaturalist observations are public. Teachers will want to take special care to protect the privacy of their students and to comply with the law. Children under 13 can only create an iNaturalist with parental permission (using this form). Please read the section Children in the Law on this guide for more information and ideas for working with younger students, such as creating a teacher-administered iNaturalist account for your class.

Interested in joining the iScience program?

Want to join the iScience program? Click the Application tab above and we’ll get back to you within a few business days.

Current participants

Here is a list of schools that are currently participating in the iScience Program:

Check out our Umbrella Project on iNaturalist for an overview of the plants and animals reported by iScience participants!

Last updated September 22, 2025
2:01 pm

Resources for participants

The resources below will help you get started with your iScience project!

General resources

• iScience flyer
• Getting started with iScience

iScience original videos

• Full playlist

• Virtual bioblitz walks at different TVA wild areas
• TVA’s Hiking Around the Valley (virtual hike video series)

iScience Lesson Plans

Introducing Biodiversity: Probability and extinction

iNaturalist resources

• getting started guide
• teacher’s guide – includes specific information about children under 13 using iNaturalist (see the section Children and the Law)
• how-to videos

More to come

• Organizing a BioBlitz
• More original videos
• And more!