To celebrate Earth Day 2020, Alachua County and the City of Gainesville are joining 250 other cities and counties around the world in participating in the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge, from April 24 to April 27. To participate in this activity, download the free iNaturalist app on your smartphone and then go outside and take photos of all the plants and animals you can find in your yard or neighborhood and post the photos to iNaturalist through the website or app. You can also report animal and plant sightings without a photo.
To learn how to participate in this easy and fun event, view this
iNaturalist training video that was put together by Dr. Mark Hostetler at UF.
We want to embrace the healing power of nature and encourage people to get outside and enjoy nature but recommend that you stay in your yard or neighborhood. Individual safety and public health are our utmost priority. We urge all participants to carefully follow public health guidelines.
“We hope participants are pleasantly surprised by how many plants and animals they can find in their own yards,” said Environmental Protection Department’s Water Resources Program Manager Stacie Greco. She continued, “Participants may find that some plants they have considered as weeds are quite beautiful and actually provide shelter and food for other species.”
The Nature Challenge is organized by the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo, University of Florida IFAS, California Academy of Sciences, and the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum in partnership with Alachua County, City of Gainesville, and the Florida Museum on Natural History.
For more information, contact Alachua County Senior Environmental Specialist Hollie Greer at 352-264-6827 or
Hgreer@alachuacounty.us.
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