PRESS RELEASE: APRIL DESIGNATED 'CITY NATURE MONTH'

MEDIA CONTACT:
Chelsea Mervenne, chelsea@corazonlatino.us

CITY NATURE CHALLENGE NO LONGER A COMPETITION, APRIL DESIGNATED ‘CITY NATURE MONTH’ BY REGIONAL ORGANIZERS

April 2020

For the Washington Metro Area the Fifth Annual ‘Challenge’ is Restructured to Comply with Local Stay-At-Home Orders

City Nature Month DC (April​)​ – This year, for the fifth annual ​City Nature Challenge​ ​regional organizers have adapted the initiative to comply with local stay-at-home orders. The City Nature Challenge which was started in 2016 by the ​Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA) and San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences (CAS), ​is a ​global citizen and community science competition during which people compete to make the most observations of plants and animals in their community using the iNaturalist app. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Challenge is not a competition, but is an opportunity to connect with nature.​ DC Area organizers have designated April as City Nature Month, encouraging residents to creatively enjoy nature and make observations with the iNaturalist app where they are safely able: inside their homes, through windows, in backyards, from balconies, or in their neighborhoods all while following social distancing guidelines.

Both globally and regionally, the 2020 City Nature Challenge is a shared nature experience. In the DC metro area, all iNaturalist observations will count toward the City Nature Month project. The regional team is encouraging former outdoor event organizers to create virtual events around individual iNaturalist observations, which can be found on the ​DC City Nature Challenge website​.

Throughout April, all aspiring citizen scientists, nature and science fans, and people of all ages and science backgrounds are welcome to​ ​observe and submit pictures of plants, animals, and fungi using the free app iNaturalist​. All ages and levels of expertise are welcome. The more eyes on the ground and up in the sky the better. Join the fun and connect with nature! Identification of photographed species will be crowdsourced through the online community.

For both budding and veteran citizen scientists, participating is easy:

  1. Find wildlife. It can be any plant, animal, insect, fungi, slime mold, or any other evidence of life (scat, fur, tracks, shells, carcasses!) found in your area.

  2. Take a picture of what you find, and be sure to note the general location of the critter or plant.

  3. Share your observations by uploading your findings through ​iNaturalist​.

More Information and Education Toolkit

iNaturalist:​ ​Signing up is easy and free. Visit ​iNaturalist.org​ from your browser, or download iNaturalist from the ​Apple App Store​ or ​Google Play​ store.

Social Media:

  • Facebook: #CityNatureChallenge

  • Global Twitter handle: ​@citnatchallenge

  • Regional Twitter handle: ​@CityNatureDC

  • Regional Instagram handle: @city_nature_challenge_dc

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