There were many, many amazing photos in our project that I saw while doing identifications this past week. Some of you not only made great observations, but your photos were absolutely beautiful, as well!
I made a Google Photos album with some of my CNC pictures to share. If you make an album of your own, feel free to share with us as well! I hope you enjoy:
🥳🥳The 2024 City Nature Challenge global totals have arrived!🥳🥳
After co-founding and organizing the first-ever City Nature Challenge in 2016 as a friendly competition between the Los Angeles and San Francisco metro areas, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) and the California Academy of Sciences expanded the initiative to 690 cities this year — one of the biggest jumps in CNC history. This significant uptick is the result of a network of organizers in India who brought 205 projects to the global effort. This year’s 2.4 million observations included sightings of more than 3,940 rare, endangered, or threatened species. The Challenge engaged more than 83,000 observers around the world, including 571 observers in the Monterey Bay Area alone!
The global event called on current and aspiring community scientists, nature and science fans, and people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and submit pictures of wild plants, animals, and fungi from April 26 - 29. Participants submitted pictures of wild plants and animals using the free mobile app, iNaturalist. The competition underscores the power of community science to track real-time changes in our planet’s biodiversity.
–CNC Organizer email
FIRST, here's the official LOCAL results you're waiting for!!!
(Global results next)*CNC official results were pulled on 05/06/2024 at 9:00 AM PDT.
⭐ Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties by the Numbers:
-Total Observations: 5,177 (5,106 Verifiable*)
-Total Individual Species Observed: 1,409 (including 70 rare/endangered/threatened species! 1,350 Verfiable)
-Total Local Observers: 568
-Average Number of Observations per Person: about 10
-Research Grade Observations: 3,688 (about 74% of total)
-Research Grade Species Count: 1,009 (about 75% of total)
*Verifiable means that there is at least one picture or sound of the organism and it is not captive or cultivated
📈 Leaderboards for our project:
🤳🏼 Total Observations:
1) @sarah-mae: 533
2) @katmorgan: 365
3) @barbarab: 302
4) @ramblinghobbit: 200
5) @falcofous: 127
6) @projectseawolf_sv: 102
7) @jmaughn: 86
8) @bos__mutus: 81
9) @kyanocitta: 69
10) @billhubick: 60
🗒️ Total Individual Species Observed:
1) @sarah-mae: 329
2) @barbarab: 242
3) @katmorgan: 201
4) @ramblinghobbit: 153
5) @falcofous: 74
6) @jmaughn: 68
7) @projectseawolf_sv: 64
8) @billhubick: 47
9) @kyanocitta: 44
10) @mbabbe: 44
🆔 Total Identifications Made:
1) @ramblinghobbit: 1,620
2) @katmorgan: 1,036
3) @sarah-mae: 678
4) @orenda3: 474
5) @billhubick:212
6) @oceanf: 179
7) @kvandevere: 163
8) @aparrot1: 112
9) @kristin_dotterrer: 101
10) @danieldas: 72
Congratulations and great job to every single one of you who participated!
⭐Highlights for the World Project
Observations: 2,436,844
Species: 65,682+ (including more than 3,940+ rare/endangered/threatened species)
Observers: 83,528
Most-observed species globally: Mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
Cities: 690
Countries: 51
🎥 interesting Observations from the global project
"The current landscape of urban biodiversity is poorly understood. As global human populations grow increasingly concentrated in cities, documenting urban biodiversity—and our impact on it—is a crucial part of understanding our shared future. Large pools of data, including those built by iNaturalist and natural history museums, aid in scientific research and help land managers make informed conservation decisions for humans to sustainably coexist with regional plant and animal life.
-CNC organizer wrap-up email
“The City Nature Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for communities around the world to come together, explore, and appreciate the biodiversity that surrounds us. It’s inspiring to see so many people engaging with nature in their cities and contributing to valuable community science efforts.”
-CNC Organizer Ruth Nasieku of Nairobi, Kenya
“It is important to participate in the City Nature Challenge because it gives us the opportunity to connect with the nature around us, learn more about biodiversity and contribute to the collection of scientific data important for wildlife conservation. Additionally, by participating, we can promote environmental awareness and the importance of protecting our natural environment for future generations.”
-CNC Organizer Anabela Plos of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 2023, the Challenge tallied more than 1.87 million observations, including over 2,570 rare, endangered, or threatened species; engaged more than 66,000 observers; and recorded 57,227 species worldwide. Next year’s City Nature Challenge — which celebrates its 10th anniversary — will take place April 25 - 28, 2025. I highly encourage any of you interested to participate again next year! Do you have an idea or suggestion for CNC? Or do you want to volunteer for next year's project?Visit the City Nature Challenge official site to register, or contact me directly at MontereyCNC@proton.me and I'll be in touch!
Learn more about the truly amazing organizations that helped make both our local and the global missions of City Nature Challenge possible again this year:
▶️ Check out the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Mission Statement and Museum history pages! Thank you to Liese at PGMNH for helping organize this project, offering UC Environmental Stewards Program courses to the community, and for calling in your California Naturalists as volunteers at our events!
📞165 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove, CA, 93950, (831) 648-5716 admin@pgmuseum.org
▶️ We also thank Savannah at the Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District for getting CNC into every mailbox on the Peninsula and arranging public parks for our in-field events. The locations were amazing and we had so much fun!
📞Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District, 4860 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel, CA 93923 - (831) 371-3196
▶️ And of course, there was our partner across the Bay, the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, where Rocio and her team kept the vibe alive in the northern chunk of our huge project territory! Gratitude for your community's turn out in this year's event! Nisene Marks was such a highlight this year.
📞Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 East Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95062 - (831) 420-6115 info@santacruzmuseum.org
▶️ There was also a CNC-Adjacent Bioblitz (Check out the results here!) in celebration of Earth Day out at the Elkhorn Slough National Esturaine Research Reserve (ESNERR). @sarah-mae @alexandria122 @mbavolunteer and myself had a blast running the booth for Beth and filling visitors in about the double-duty their observations were making at the Reserve that day.
📞1700 Elkhorn Road, Watsonville, CA 95076 - (831) 728-2822 questionsforus@elkhornslough.org
▶️ About the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County
The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) include the Natural History Museum, La Brea Tar Pits, and the William S. Hart Museum. They operate under the collective vision to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds. The museums hold one of the world’s most extensive and valuable collections of natural and cultural history—more than 35 million objects. Using these collections for groundbreaking scientific and historical research, the museums also incorporate them into on- and offsite nature and culture exploration in L.A. neighborhoods, and a slate of community science programs—creating indoor-outdoor visitor experiences that explore the past, present, and future. Visit NHMLAC.org for adventure, education, and entertainment opportunities.
📞The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is located at 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007.
▶️ About the California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is a renowned scientific and educational institution with a mission to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. Based in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, it is home to a world-class aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum, as well as innovative programs in scientific research and environmental education—all under one living roof.
📞Museum hours are 9:30 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Saturday, and 11:00 am – 5:00 pm on Sunday. Admission includes all exhibits, programs, and shows. For daily ticket prices, please visit www.calacademy.org or call (415) 379-8000 for more information.
💪 HERE! HAVE A BIG FANCY CNC 2024 INFOGRAPHIC FROM THE iNAT FOLX! 💪
Good evening/morning to all!
There are now less than 24 hours to finalize the project! Get those last minute photos uploaded! Push through and get those IDs done!
We did an incredible job this year and we basically beat all our numbers from 2023. Looking forward to 2025, but for now let's get this protect finished!
Hello everyone! 😅
Great job this year, and an extra special thanks to everyone who showed up to participate at our in-field events at parks in the community! 🤳🏼🦄
Results are being tabulated, and that's where you can help out if you so choose! 🥳 We have until 11:59 PM on this Sunday, May 5th to finish submitting observations and finalizing IDs on all those observations.
➡️ As of this journal entry, there are still 1,840 observations that need an ID confirmation! 😬 If you can share your time and expertise, we would love any assistance you can spare.
Quick tip: when doing identifications, you can filter search results down to our local project, then check the box that says "Needs ID," and then you can select the variety(-ies) of life you are comfortable with! (That would be things like mammals, plants, birds, etc.) Hit the big green "Apply Filters" button and you're good to go!
Please reach out to me if you have any questions or have any ideas for next year, because planning starts SOON! 🙃 Thanks again, y'all!
Cheers! 🧃
Travis 🍄
MontereyCNC@proton.me
Exciting update! In cooperation with the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District, we are going to be offering family-friendly meet-ups out in the field to make observations together!
Three official events will happen simultaneously on Sunday, April 28th 2024, from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Participants are welcome to choose any of these parks to join in at, here in the southern coastal portion of the Bay:
•Locke Paddon Park in Marina. Map link.
•Laguna Grande Park in Seaside. Map link.
•George Washington Park in Pacific Grove. Map link.
Each location will be hosting a bioblitz with students from the local California Naturalist course, CNC project organizers, and other volunteers from the community. All of us will be available for Naturalist questions, iNat observation tips, and general merriment! We hope to see you all in the field!
