Brandeis University Biodiversity's Journal

Tucked behind Brandies' International Business School lies the Sachar Woods, a forested area where, during the day, students and local Waltham residents can take a hike, walk their dog (on leash please!), or simply enjoy nature. During the night however, our other neighbors come out to play. As seen in images captured by the Brandeis Camera Traps project, numerous coyotes, white-tailed deer, raccoons, and oh-so-many squirrels make their regular appearances around Sachar woods, with the occasional sightings of opossums, red fox, cottontail, and various bird species.

Through using motion triggered infrared camera traps, occurrence and behavior data of nocturnal and crepuscular species can be gathered where there are not always humans around to observe. Keep an eye on the Camera Trap project for new observations coming soon!

From April 26th through April 29th, people in cities all over the world will be out iNatting as many wildlife observations as they can.

The City Nature Challenge is a 4-day bioblitz that cities and individuals all over the world participate in. It started in 2016 as a competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Now, cities around the globe compete in the CNC in late April each year.

The goal is to get outside and make as many observations of wildlife in urban areas as possible. Many cities (including Boston!) use iNaturalist as the platform for participants to upload these observations.

You can participate in the CNC from wherever you are. If you are in a city that is participating on iNaturalist, you can join that project and help your city compete in the CNC. If you aren’t in a city participating in the CNC, you can still contribute to the global project.

The goal of the CNC is to collect as much data as possible to understand how we coexist with nature. The observations you make will help contribute to this research (and your grade if participating in the CNC is an assignment).

Happy iNatting!