Napa RCD is teaming up with the iNaturalist app and the California Academy of Sciences to offer resources for residents to participate in the San Francisco Bay Area City Nature Challenge, an app-based citizen science project that is suitable for all ages! By using this app, YOU can help contribute to a biodiversity catalog of Napa County!
In case you missed it, HERE is a link to a recording of the WILD Napa lecture from April 9– Alison Young from CalAcademy joined us to talk about Citizen Science and the City Nature Challenge
The 2020 City Nature Challenge has a couple steps:
- Download the iNaturalist App
- Go for a walk, and keep your eyes open for the WILD nature you can find in your neighborhood, backyard, or local park
- Take a photo of the WILD nature you find and upload it into the iNaturalist app. Don’t worry if you don’t know the species, that’s what citizen science is all about!
- Let Napa RCD know what you’re doing by posting your findings not just in iNaturalist, but on Facebook and Instagram too, and tagging @NapaRCD and #WILDnapa
There is a list of resources below that can help you get started, but please feel free to contact Ashley Kvitek at 707-690-31174 or Ashley@NapaRCD.org if you have any questions. Ashley will also be doing a few neighborhood walks of her own, talking about how to look for the WILD nature that exists in an urban environment. You can tune in to those videos through Facebook and Instagram!
Staying physically distant from others is very important right now, so we want to be clear that we encourage you all to participate in this challenge in your own neighborhoods. If you make your way to a park, try to go where it’s less crowded and be sure that you follow all COVID-19 guidelines from Napa County.
How to get started with iNaturalist on your mobile device (phone or tablet)
How to upload an observation on your computer
How to take photos that help others identify a species
Ways to bring nature into your yard (from CalAcademy)