City Nature Challenge Update
Hello All,
I’m reaching out to you because you are on of Harris County’s top 50 observers on iNaturalist! The 2018 City Nature Challenge is quickly approaching and will be held April 27 to 30, and we need your help to get Houston to the top again! If you haven’t participated in City Nature Challenge, it is an awesome opportunity to get out and make as many observations and identifications as possible during the designated time period. Houston is competing with cities across the nation to try and get the most observations, highest number of species, or other categories. Last year Houston came in first for highest number of species!
I wanted to share some CNC links for both new participants and experienced participants to help get ready and spread the word about this awesome event. A special thanks goes out to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for coordinating this event statewide and providing these resources.
First, if you have any events to promote CNC or coinciding with CNC, you can submit that information to be included on the master list of all events for Texas. Currently, Dallas has many more events listed than we do. The form to list your event is found at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFHxkKLxxmkrD34V1pTLq6lEuHFNgGlQqdIApAqkxGGBDRsQ/viewform. If you are interested in seeing what events have already been posted, you can view the list at the TPWD City Nature Challenge page at https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/naturechallenge/. If you want us to share your event even further, we are also happy to share it on the Houston City Nature Challenge Facebook page!
There are a few changes to the City Nature Challenge this year, including the fact that photos can be uploaded and identified all the way up to May 3. This gives us more time to get those IDs in, helping us get the highest numbers possible. Because of this, we are looking for experts to invite to an “identification party” sometime between May 1 and 3. If you know of anyone who would be a good resource for this event, please send them our way.
And, if you are new to iNaturalist, be sure to create an account online and/or download the app. To learn more about iNaturalist, visit https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/getting+started, or check out the iNat PDF instructions attached. To officially join the Houston City Nature Challenge through iNaturalist, visit the 2018 Houston Project page (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2018-houston) and click “join project” located at the top right of the page.
Finally, we would like to thank all of our committed partners who are helping spread the word and are working to make this an incredible event (and help Houston win)!
Citizens Environmental Coalition
City of Pearland
Coastal Prairie Partnership
Environmental Institute of Houston
Galveston Bay Area Chapter – Texas Master Naturalists
Galveston Bay Foundation
Harris County Precinct 4
Houston Arboretum and Nature Center
Houston Native Prairies Association of Texas
Houston Parks Board
Houston Parks and Recreation Department
Houston Wilderness
Katy Prairie Conservancy
Memorial Park Conservancy
Native Plant Society of Texas-Houston
Nature Discovery Center
Student Conservation Association
Texas A&M Forest Service
Thanks so much, and please let me know if you have any other questions!
Best,
Anna Vallery
Conservation Specialist
Houston Audubon
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