Hello City Nature Challenge Community!

Have you let us know that you’re joining in the 2020 City Nature Challenge? Still have some questions? Interested but not sure if it is a right fit? Planning on participating but haven’t registered as a collaborating organization for 2020? Don’t worry, there is still time… and in the meantime, why don’t your join us next week to explore the possibilities?

Whether you’ve already signed up or are still considering your options, we hope you’ll join us -- the CNC Boston steering committee -- at our first-ever City Nature Challenge Meet-up on February 10 from 12 - 3 pm at the Franklin Park Zoo! It’s free, and there will be snacks, and it will be a great chance to get together with others interested in supporting the CNC to engage our community in citizen science and documenting biodiversity in our area.

Use this google form to let us know your coming! In the form, you’ll also be able to indicate if you are a returning organization, or joining for the first-time. We’re also asking a couple of questions to find out what type of training or collaborations you might be interested in.

During the CNC Meet-up you’ll have an opportunity to participate in ‘How to iNat workshops’ for both new and advanced users, share ideas for how to engage your community, learn about Data Quests, and have all of your questions about the CNC answered. We look forward to connecting!

This year the CNC will have about 200 cities participating in this global effort to document urban biodiversity. The 2020 CNC: Boston Area will now include within the I-495 corridor, out to Stellwagen Bank, and include Cape Cod and islands. You and your organization can help boost Boston to the top of the leaderboard by making observations from April 24 - 27 and/or helping to identify observations from April 28 - May 3, 2020. Check out our website to learn more! You can also view our ‘Welcome Webinar’ from Jan. 13 on the CNC YouTube Channel. You’ll see it is divided into three parts: part 1 covers an overview of the CNC (including how to get involved), part 2 covers iNaturalist essentials, and part 3 is an open Q & A.

Thanks, we look forward to seeing you soon!

The CNC Steering Committee

Boston Area City Nature Challenge Steering Committee:
Aimee Bonanno, New England Aquarium and New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative
Colleen Hitchcock, Brandeis University
Claire O’Neill, Earthwise Aware
Eliza Forman and John Anderson, Zoo New England
Peter Burn, Suffolk University
Pam DiBona, MassBays National Estuary Partnership
Stan Rullman, Kim Arlen, and Mark Chandler, Earthwatch Institute
Rob Stevenson, University of Massachusetts Boston less ↑