City Nature Challenge: It’s On, Charlottesville!
How does our Charlottesville nature stack up against the rest of the world? Take part in the City Nature Challenge April 27-30, 2018, and let’s find out together!
If you live in the city of Charlottesville or Albemarle County, you’re invited to participate in this fun, friendly competition. Our neighbors to the east in Richmond and to the north in D.C. will also be among the 65 cities across 17 countries that are participating in this year's challenge.
Which city on Earth can boast the most nature? Whose residents are most engaged? In vying for distinctions like these as part of the City Nature Challenge, communities will contribute to a global citizen-science project, discovering and documenting the ecological diversity sharing their urban spaces.
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
It’s easy to join the fun! To start, you will need to download iNaturalist (available for free from your app store). Then, during the four-day challenge window, simply take pictures of the plants and animals you find and upload them to the iNaturalist app.
Join one of our hikes to learn about frogs and birds in your neighborhood. RSVP using the links below.
- Birding at Ivy Creek, Charlottesville, VA, Friday, April 27, 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
- Birding at Meadow Creek, Charlottesville, VA, Saturday, April 28, 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
- Birding at the Forks, Charlottesville, VA, Saturday, April 28, 7:00 - 8:30 a.m.
- Frogs at the Forks, Charlottesville, VA, Saturday, April 28, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
- Macroinvertebrates at Meadow Creek, Charlottesville, VA, Saturday, April 28, 10-11:30 a.m., RSVP to Jen Dalke at jdalke@tnc.org
Whether you’re a budding or master naturalist, we will also welcome your help during the post-challenge ID phase. From May 1-3, we’ll be getting together to identify and record the observations entered into iNaturalist.
The more plant and animal species we can pinpoint, the greater our final tally for Charlottesville! Plus, this part of the challenge will also provide valuable data for scientists, land managers, nonprofits and government agencies involved in conservation.
GET INFORMATION AND GET INVOLVED
For more details and resources, visit the Charlottesville page on iNaturalist. There’s also an online tutorial on using the iNaturalist app.
To find and sign up for a field trip with a Conservancy guide, keep checking our Virginia City Nature Challenge page.
But if group outings aren’t for you, feel free to explore on your own. From your own backyard to our local parks and natural areas, nature is everywhere!
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