City Nature Challenge
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Experience Nature in Your Backyard
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What is the City Nature Challenge?
In April of 2018, over 65 cities will be entering into a global biodiversity challenge called the City Nature Challenge (CNC) to observe and identify as many species as possible. ÃÀ¼§ÉçÇø is helping to spearhead the Boston Area campaign. Last year, our collective efforts helped mobilize over 250 participants to record nearly 4,000 observations and 750 species for the Boston area. For the 2018 CNC campaign, we have set our goal to double our numbers—with over 500 people participating and 8,000 observations. We have an amazing team of partners to achieve these numbers, including Zoo New England, Encyclopedia of Life, University of Massachusetts, and Brandeis University, but we need your help to reach more people and record more observations. Participating is easy. You and your organization can help boost Boston to the top of the leaderboard by collecting data from April 27th through April 30th. It’s that easy (and fun!) to learn about the world we live in, and the wildlife we live alongside.
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ÃÀ¼§ÉçÇø Event
On Saturday, April 28th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., ÃÀ¼§ÉçÇø will host an event at Fresh Pond and Alewife Reservation in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is and open to the public. Participants will use the iNaturalist app on their smartphones to record observations of as many species as possible during this time. All species count, and every observation helps! Visit the to learn more. Note that ÃÀ¼§ÉçÇø staff will offer iNaturalist trainings at the event. Just bring a phone, camera, or notepad and join us outside to explore nature with ÃÀ¼§ÉçÇø!
Other Ways to Get Involved
Calling all nature ambassadors! We need YOU to help photograph species throughout the greater Boston area this April. All you need to do to start submitting observations is to download and familiarize yourself with the iNaturalist app on your smartphone. You can also use your camera to capture images of the species you see, and upload them onto the iNaturalist website. Aim to capture high quality images; many of last year’s observations were research grade quality. Check out some of the species commonly observed around Massachusetts . Be sure to spread the word about the CNC to your friends, families, and coworkers!
Contact Us!
Feel free to contact us at BostonCNC@earthwatch.org with any questions or to learn more about the many ways to get involved!
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For More Information
Check out the full calendar of events from our partners around the greater Boston area.
For more information, visit the official Boston Area City Nature Challenge website.
Experience hands-on science in some of the most astounding locations in the world.
Meet a community of eco-conscious travelers and return home with stories filled with adventure.
YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS
ÃÀ¼§ÉçÇø depends on donations—above and beyond what we raise from volunteers who participate in our expeditions—to deliver our global conservation mission. In fact, volunteer contributions provide only half of the total resources ÃÀ¼§ÉçÇø needs to sustain over 20 global field research expeditions, a wide variety of educational programs, corporate sustainability trainings, and more each year.