The 2024 City Nature Challenge kicks off today, or actually it already kicked off at midnight. It runs through Monday at 11:59 PM. If you’re reading this blog/newsletter you’re probably already familiar with the City Nature Challenge, but follow the links if you need to catch up.
The bottom line is don’t forget to record an observation of something using iNaturalist between now and Monday night. If you’re outside, you can start with lichens and spontaneously growing plants (nothing cultivated or captive, please). They don’t move and are easy to snap pictures of. Is there a bird singing nearby? You can upload an audio clip. You can even do this indoors if a cobweb spider or house centipede crosses your path.
Make some observations this weekend, but the goal, of course, is to make it a habit. I can’t say I snap a picture or upload audio for everything I encounter (I’d barely make it out the door every day) but I use iNaturalist to log my reptile and amphibian observations and to record observations of plants I’ve never seen before, year-round.