Line graph showing total installs as a function of time. The daily installs start at 16 on October 9, 2025 and slowly step up to 23 on April 6, 2026.

I told myself I’d skip the iPhone version (and the $99 fee) for #Ecoseek until hitting 100 Android downloads. I’m still convinced it’s a niche app, but enough iPhone-using friends have shown interest that I’ve finally caved.

Let the cross-platform headaches begin.

#BuildInPublic #IndieDev #Ecology

A new #Ecoseek version! This is a big one! I revamped the Discover page to get your motivated to explore through dynamic content (thanks #iNaturalist!); added support for multiple photos, added achievements, improved the map, and more.

#appdev #buildinpublic #ecology #nature #conservation

Considering adding social features to #Ecoseek. Beyond 'collecting' ecoregions, I want users to help track ecosystem health to help discovery and provide research data. Imagine 'checking in' to a prairie and flagging its condition for others.

What do you think about contributing to citizen science?

Screenshot of Ecoseek showing the Discover page. An "Almost there" nudge shows a progress bar of level 4 ecoregions explored in a level 3 region. A "Today's spotlight" lists an ecoregion with species that have been recently observed on iNaturalist. And a "Trending in Washington" that shows North Cascaded Lowland Forest at 14x higher iNaturalist activity than previous month.

One thing I'm trying to do with #Ecoseek is to encourage exploration of new ecosystems. I'm experimenting with nudges if users are close to completing an area; featured ecoregions; and highlight regions that have relatively higher #iNaturalist activity -- assuming phenological changes.

Screenshot of Ecoseek showing three ecoregions that were visited with a submitted image as the background of a text area with a checkmark. The first background is of an oak forest, the next is a rocky waterfall, and the last is a desert.

I'm playing around with how the ecoregions that you've visited are displayed in the checklist. By making the featured images more prominent, I'm hoping to give a sense of the rich natural diversity as you scroll through. What do you think?

#Ecoseek #Appdev #Nature #Biodiversity

Screenshot of the Ecoseek app that shows a simplified description of an ecoregion. The example says "The Glaciated Low Allegheny Plateau is a vast, fairly uniform landscape that spans much of the northern Allegheny Plateau. When viewed from above, it looks like a patchwork quilt of farms and small woods draped over rolling hills. This terrain was shaped by ancient glaciers, which acted like giant sheets of sandpaper to grind down the landscape, resulting in flattened hilltops and..."

Huge update to #Ecoseek that makes #ecoregion descriptions accessible to everyone! All 1700+ descriptions have been updated to use clear language and less jargon.

This is a very important update to me as I want everyone to understand the beauty of #nature.

Screenshot of the Ecoseek app for Android showing technical terms like "sedimentary rock" and "grand fir" underlined suggesting a link to wikipedia.

Screenshot of the Ecoseek app for Android showing a "Simplified" toggle on and a more understandable description where "sedimentary rock" is described as "layers of hardened sand and silt."

You like #ecoregion descriptions but wish those scientific terms were defined? Maybe you want them understandable without needing five advanced degrees? Well #Ecoseek has you covered! The new version will have links to Wikipedia for all complex terms and an optional "simplified" description.

Screenshot of Ecoseek app showing an error

Doh! I got automated build and publish working to my internal release track for #Ecoseek but the build failed. Just when I left for an adventure to explore a new #ecoregion. 🤣

Screenshot of the app details page for the app Ecoseek in the Google Play Store. The screenshot highlights the "What's new" section that reads: Added descriptions for all states -- and that makes 48! All continental states are now supported! Well, Florida is a bit weird, but we all knew that."

After many hours, I have finally finished a full database of ecoregion descriptions and added it to #ecoseek. It contains data for all continental states - and now anyone there can use the app to discover new ecosystems around them!

Download, explore, and become great stewards of the land!

Screenshot of Ecoseek website showing a coverage map with all Western states colored in.

It's about the small wins sometimes. After a long break from #Ecoseek to focus on hikes and gardening, I was able to launch a new version with the help of my daughter. All the Western states are supported now. The Midwest is next!

www.ecoseek.app

Screenshot of a PDF with a handwritten message that says "Hi Dad" and a happy dog face

What a wonderful surprise! My daughter wanted to help with #Ecoseek so I suggested she help with some of the ecoregion descriptions. I was doing some quality control and found a nice message in one of the PDFs ❤️

Photo of an oak savanna with pine covered mountains in the background

Photo of an oak woodland with pine covered mountains in the background

Photo of wildflowers with oak woodland in the backyard

The #botany dork in me got to geek out at an oak woodland! I knew we had oaks in WA but wasn't sure where. I used #Ecoseek to find the ecoregion then used it to find a high quality natural area to explore. Total success!