Better Forest Challenge - Blue Hills

Do you love being outside in nature? Do you want to help protect it, just by taking photos? Then… join the Blue Hills: Better Forest Challenge!

The Blue Hills is home to an incredible number of species. As a member of this project, you will take photos of the plants and animals in the Blue Hills… you can even record bird songs. As many people make observations of the different species, we’ll better understand:

• What’s growing the Blue Hills at different times of the year
• When plants are in bloom and fruiting (and measure how it changes from year-to-year)
• Where invasive plants are most prevalent and most threaten the forest ecosystem
• What and when animals and birds are found in different parts of the park

By making observations at different times of the year and of a variety of species, you will provide the data for scientists to evaluate how climate change is changing the make-up of plants and animals in the Blue Hills… which will help us better understand the health of the forest.

What Observations should I NOT record?

While it's extremely helpful for you to record most of the plants and animals in the park, we do ask that you do not share observations of rare species with site-specific information. Don't worry about posting a photo of a rare species by mistake. We'll remove the photos of rare and endangered species with location information to protect those species from harm.

Thank you! less ↑