From 2019 to 2020, Alan Kwok and Ada Tai were the most active users of the year on the popular ecological community platform iNaturalist for Hong Kong. Jointly managed by the married couple, the account "alankwok" has uploaded over 36,000 records of animals and plants under “Observations”*.

For over a decade, Alan and Ada have enjoyed many hiking expeditions to photograph birds and butterflies, bringing nothing but a camera to the Tsz Sha Ancient Trail near home. In 2018, the couple began uploading their observation records on iNaturalist. The platform helps gather ecological data for researchers around the globe who, under limited funds, time or project scale, may not be able to do field observations abroad or stay for long-term research. Local contributions by amateur naturalists like Alan and Ada can help international researchers gain essential data remotely.

Since creating the account, Alan and Ada’s activities on the platform caught the attention of international experts, some of whom offered them tips on taking ecological records that would be useful for research. In just two years, the couple have excelled in taking observation records, incorporating skills such as multi-angled photoshoots and scale. Occasionally Alan and Ada would receive messages from researchers to thank them for the quality data provided on Hong Kong’s flora and fauna. The couple now live in Canada, where they continue to explore the ecology and share data on the platform.

*iNaturalist – An international online platform to exchange ecological data, users can upload their own records of any organism under “Observations”. These records will be available on the database for research and public use after two experts verify the species identity.