Weather Policy: For the safety and enjoyment of our visitors, all programs are subject to cancellation due to inclement weather, including rain, wind, and severe weather warnings and advisories.
- This event has passed.
City Nature Challenge 2021: Lexington
April 30, 2021 @ 12:00 am - May 3, 2021 @ 11:30 pm
Floracliff is thrilled to bring the City Nature Challenge to Lexington. The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event that mobilizes urban residents and visitors to observe, document, and celebrate the wild plants, animals, and fungi in and around urban areas. This focused and collective effort increases our awareness and understanding of urban biodiversity around the world.
The City Nature Challenge began in 2016 and is organized annually by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. In its first year, the CNC was a competition between San Francisco and Los Angeles to document wild biodiversity in urban areas using iNaturalist. It has since grown to over 300 participating cities in 40 countries.
City Nature Challenge 2021: Lexington will take place April 30th – May 3rd throughout Fayette County. Lexington residents and visitors are encouraged to photograph the wild nature around them and upload those photographs to iNaturalist. If you are within Fayette County, your observations will automatically be added to the project. All identification skill levels are welcome. If you do not know what you are looking at, it’s okay! Be sure to take and submit clear, detailed photos so the iNaturalist community can contribute identifications.
There are many wild plants, animals, fungi, and more to be found throughout Lexington. Together, we can discover, document, and share Lexington’s biodiversity!
To join us at Floracliff for a City Nature Challenge event, see our events page here: floracliff.org/events/
Information about daily and 4-day challenges, with chances to win prizes.
If you represent a community group that is interested in participating in the City Nature Challenge, please email Beverly James, bjames@floracliff.org, to confirm your participation and partnership.
Questions? Email Beverly James: bjames@floracliff.org
How to participate in the City Nature Challenge:
- Download the iNaturalist app on your smartphone. If you do not have a smartphone, iNaturalist can also be accessed with a desktop computer at iNaturalist.org
- Set up an iNaturalist account if you do not have one.
- Find wild nature – plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, land snails, mosses, lichens, fungi, etc. Cultivated plants and pets are discouraged.
- Photograph individual wild species with your phone or camera.
- Upload your photos to iNaturalist, making sure the location of your species is noted correctly. While we encourage the use of iNaturalist year-round, only observations between April 30th and May 3rd will count for the Challenge.
Activities to observe wild nature in Lexington:
- Set up a bird feeding station and/or bird bath.
- Set up a white sheet with a UV light at night to attract moths and other nocturnal insects.
- Set up cover boards, such as pieces of plywood or old roofing tin. Wild animals like insects, snakes, or small mammals may use the shelter underneath.
- Look under logs and rocks on land or along streams
- Observe wild plants growing in your yard, schoolyard, neighborhood park or greenspace, or sidewalk cracks.
- Look for insects, birds, lichens, mosses, snails, fungi, etc. that are attracted to and supported by cultivated plants.
Resources:
- iNaturalist video tutorials
- iNaturalist Teacher’s Guide
- City Nature Challenge Education Toolkit
- Frequently Asked Questions about the City Nature Challenge
City Nature Challenge Dates:
- April 30th – May 3rd: Documentation of wild plants, animals, and fungi
- May 4th – May 9th: Identification of observations by the iNaturalist community
- May 10th: Results announced
