It’s easy to be inspired by the beauty of nature when you’re out on a hike in a National Park, but you don’t have to travel far to experience the outdoors. While the outdoor experience in Manhattan is going to be different than out in Zion, for example, there are still plenty of ways you can find connections to nature even in the busiest of cities.

I was lucky to grow up in a place where I was really spoilt for choice when it came to the outdoors. My friends and I would often spend a long weekend hiking, canoeing, rock climbing or biking. But since moving to New York City, those opportunities take a bit more planning (especially without a car). Because of this, I’ve gotten a bit creative. Here are some ways I take time to enjoy nature in the city:

Download the Apps

There is an app for everything… including ones for nature! Last spring, I downloaded the Seek app by iNaturalist. It’s an app that helps you identify plants, fungi and animals around the US (and maybe beyond?). When I’m out on a hike or even a walk around my block, I try to take special notice of different plants that I don’t know the names of. So, not only is it beefing up my knowledge of plants, it’s also encouraging me to be more in the moment when I’m out and about.

I know there are a few apps that do the same thing as Seek, but I like this one a lot because it feels pretty robust and almost always is able to identify things that I snap along the way. One great thing about it is that you can upload photos to it for identification after the fact, so you don’t need to spend your entire hike on an app. Instead, I’ll take a quick pic and then worry about identifying it later when I’m home.

Recently, I’ve decided to give birding a shot (and I’m loving it). While I was out on a bird watching outing, one of the attendees gave me the great tip about two bird identification apps: Merlin and Audubon. I haven’t spent much time with either of them yet, but everyone in the group really encouraged birdwatchers to use them as a resource.

Upon first use of these two apps, I appreciated that with Merlin, you’re able to record bird sounds and use that as identification. While Audubon can’t do that in the app, it has the other information you want to know about the bird.

Other apps to consider:

• All Trails: great for identifying hikes near you and it includes real-life reviews from people who have done the hike.
• iNaturalist: this is different from the Seek app, which is powered by iNaturalist. This app contributes to recording and documenting plants and animals so that information is available to scientists.
• Weather Underground: if you want to learn more about weather, this is the app for you. It gives you details not only about active weather alerts, but also things like air quality, weather news, sun rise/set timing, moon phases and more.

Find Friends

It’s so much easier to do things with other people. It’s especially helpful if you’re trying out a new hobby and want to learn from other people who are more experienced. That was the case for me with composting and birdwatching. Before finding groups dedicated to each hobby, I struggled a bit with getting started. There’s just so much to learn and cost of entry into certain hobbies can be a bit intimidating. Because who just goes out and buys binoculars before they find out they enjoy spending hours looking at birds? Instead, I’m able to join different groups who are able to lend me materials to use during an event, if they’re necessary.

While finding groups dedicated to hobbies can be an easy task in New York City, it may not be as common where you are. But we live in a very connected world thanks to the internet. Without a doubt, you should be able to find groups online that can help you get started. For example, with composting, the Master Composter program through the NY Sanitation Department has hosted webinars on composting topics and the Queens Botanical Garden hosts virtual composting networking calls so you can meet other people interesting in composting.

And you never know — maybe you’ll start your own group once you’re feeling more confident in the hobby and make sure that others who want to get started have an easier start!

Go Out and Enjoy Nature

How you spend time in nature depends on a variety of things, but the important thing is that you are out there doing it. So, give new stuff a try and see how it feels. Worst case scenario, you find out that the apps don’t help you and you uninstall them. No harm, no foul. You’ll end up finding what works for you and, more than likely, meet other people who are also interested in the hobby or activity along the way.