Perhaps you wish to improve your photography skills; or look for new taxonomic group to study; or simply want a new challenge... National moth week start tomorrow! Any moths in your area?
Check out the new iNat project https://inaturalist.ca/projects/national-moth-week-2019-nova-scotia.
2019-04-30
Hello fabulous City Nature Challenge organizers!
Thanks for an incredible four days of observing our local nature! Including the cities that didn't use iNaturalist, all together we've uploaded over 800,000 observations of close to 27,000 species! More than 32,000 people participated, which is absolutely amazing.
So what's next? Well, we're done taking pictures, but there are still quite a few things that can be done before the challenge is officially over:
Uploading: If participants have a backlog of photos that they haven't uploaded yet, they can keep uploading their observations through Sunday, May 5. Of course, these observations must have been taken during the observing window of April 26 - 29 and made within your CNC place boundary to count - but as long as they meet those two requirements, they will be added to your CNC project.
Identifying: The main reason we have a week between the ending of making observations and announcing the results is so that people have time to identify observations! You can learn more about best practices of making observations here: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/getting+started#identify
You can see which observations still need IDs by clicking the "Observations" tab in your project and then clicking the Identify button.
Once you're on the identify page, you can filter for particular taxa (using the "species" box or using the taxon buttons in the filters) if you'd like (e.g., birds, plants, grasses, lizards). You can also click the "unknown" button in the filters to see all the observations that were uploaded with no ID at all. For these unknowns, if you don't know the species it's still useful to add a coarse ID like "plants" or "grasses" or "reptiles" so that the people who know these taxa can find these observations more easily to identify them.
A big part of identifying is also helping us mark observations of organisms that are clearly captive or cultivated as such. If you see a human-planted plant or an animal that's in a zoo or aquarium, PLEASE mark these observations Captive / Cultivated (if you're in the identify page) or click the thumbs down for "Organism is wild" in the Data Quality Assessment section if you're on the observation page:
Also: if you see an observation where you think the photograph is inappropriate or not taken by the observer (e.g., they found the photo somewhere on the internet), please read what to do here: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/help#inappropriate
Results: Whatever your numbers are as of 9am YOUR TIME on Monday, May 6 will be your results! We will send you all an email once we have results compiled and ready to present - this will most likely be around 3pm Pacific Time on Monday May 6. It would be great if you shared out results in your City Nature Challenge project - use the News feature! Especially if you tailored some results for your city, like highlighting great finds or how many species were new to your place on iNaturalist.
Thanks,
Alison, Lila, & Amy
In preparation for the City Nature Challenge an iNaturalist project was set up to highlight all observations collected by anyone and at anytime from locations within the geographic area that we call HRM.
To view this project go to: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/halifax-regional-municipality-hrm-observations
We have been keeping track of basic statistics since we first registered HRM to participate in the City Nature Challenge. There has been a slight jump in the numbers over the last few months. Perhaps the jump in April was due to a few workshops and social media.
Will we be able to show a huge jump next week after the CNC2019 ends and the final observations are uploaded and identified?
date observations species identifiers observers
2018-10-27 17,290 2,103 1,048 1,010
2018-11-21 17,922 2,135 1,094 1,051
2019-01-13 18,429 2,187 1,170 1,070
2019-04-23 19,570 2,239 1,302 1,171
Check out the leader board and look for your personal stats.
Feel competitive?
The City Nature Challenge is a competition and one of the statistics is the number of observations. This will result in many observations of dandelions, pussy willows, pigeons, seagulls, starlings, garden plants and pets. There may also be many observations of the same bumblebee from a number of people on a nature walk. Is this type of data useful?
The objective of our local CNC-HRM is to promote iNaturalist as a tool and the more people that we reach the better. 'iNatting' may not stick with all but a few may latch on and incorporate iNat into their daily lives. Our hope is that if we tell 10 people that they will then tell 10 more people and so on. The objective is to reach as many people as possible. We need your help to spread the word.
Once people are aware of iNat then they need to test various means of sharing their observations. Over time the quality of the observations should improve as the new iNatters learn what to look for and what to include in the photographs to facilitate identification.
Initially the first few observations may be of plants/animals easily observed – these could be the pet cat or pretty flowers in the garden. Although these are not the focus of iNat these observations are still relevant as the presence of the cat may affect the local bird and rodent population, and without the flowers maybe there would be fewer insects, birds, etc. The important bit is to remember to flag these observations as ‘not wild’.
The first few observations may also be of poor quality (out of focus, too far away, missing features required for identification, etc). In these cases, identifiers may add a tag to indicate that this observation can only be coarsely identified and will never be identified down to species level. Don't be insulted - take this as a challenge to improve and share better photos next time! There is a learning curve.
To better answer the question 'What should i photograph' we took a look at a few other CNC web pages ... In Boston they set up a number of ‘Data Quests’ which they defined as follows: 'Data quests are an opportunity to link your species observations to specific science and conservation needs. By collecting data on data quest species, you'll be helping researchers and managers better understand where key species exist from our city centers out to our rural regions. Each quest has been chosen to answer relevant questions or as a key indicator of an important habitat. What’s more, by joining a data quest, you'll increase your knowledge and observational skills about nature across our region.' (https://www.zoonewengland.org/protect/here-in-new-england/boston-area-city-nature-challenge/)
Below we have compile a few CNC-HRM data quests:
Help build a species list for various trail associations and watershed groups and the Cole Harbour Farm. How many areas can you visit and add observations?
Help complete a plant survey for Point Pleasant Park.
Look for ash trees and note if evidence of ash borers.
Listen for frogs/salamanders and share sound clips
Keep an eye out for invasive species
Explore our beaches
• look for shells – take numerous photos and indicate if the animal was alive/dead or empty shell. Note if the shell was found on the beach or in tidal pools, etc.
• Help look for different kinds of seaweed and record if alive or found cast up on the shore. Take numerous photos (Learn a few new terms: what is the frond? What is the holdfast?)
• Share observations of jellyfish - Help with arrival and geographic distribution and abundance of various species
Reach out to others and encourage them to share observations of weird, unusual, rare species found along our coastal areas.
Look for sparrows and other migrating birds along our coasts.
While exploring the Lawrencetown/Chezzetcook area stop in at Hope for Wildlife and take photos of captive animals – make sure to tag as captive. Also look around the area and look for butterflies, bees, wild flowers, trees, etc explore the local beach.
Watch for wildlife https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/watch-for-wildlife-wildlife-vehicle-collision-tracking
Take photos showing association between two species and then post two observations. Examples include lichen on tree; bee on a flower; tick on a dog; etc. Add a comment in the description box to tie the two observations together. Advanced: add an observation field for AssociatedTaxa.
Calgary also has a long list of city wide challenges http://citynatureyyc.ca/citywide-challenges/
We are competing against 160 cities around the world – check out their web sites and see if they have quests that interest you.
OR
Create/share your own quest...
Can you improve your ability to recognize trees – over the 4 day period try to identify a number of different kinds of trees based on bark and assign the best name that you can. Do not assign a name other than ‘plant’ if you are unsure.
Look for provincial species
o Nova Scotia: Our provincial bird is the Osprey, our flower the Mayflower and our tree the Red Spruce.
o Nova Scotia adopted the trailing arbutus or mayflower (Epigaea repens L) as its official flower in 1901, when an Act of the provincial legislature stated that it “is hereby declared to be and from time immemorial to have been the emblem of Nova Scotia.”
o Nova Scotia adopted the red spruce (Picea rubens) as its official tree by an Act of the House of Assembly in 1988. The tree is able to survive in virtually any terrain and condition and was chosen to represent the strength and resilience of Nova Scotians.
o Nova Scotia adopted the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) as its official bird by an Act of the House of Assembly in 1994. This bird of prey is larger than a hawk and smaller than an eagle. Its main source of food is fish, and it can often be seen flying over oceans, rivers and lakes
Look for other symbolic species
Can you share observations of kingfishers? These birds are a symbol to Halifax (a symbol of industry)
You keep hearing - Get out and observe anytime between April 26 and 29 to contribute to the HRM City Nature Challenge!
You keep asking - Where should i go?
The objective of our local city nature challenge is simple - we wish to encourage people to get outdoors, explore, observe nature, share observations, and have fun. This can be done as part of an organized event, with an informal group of friends, colleagues and/or family, or you could set out on a solo adventure. Your choice.
You may choose to attend a few organized events and then set off to explore on your own. HRM is a large area extending from Hubbards to Eccum Secum. This is a great opportunity to explore!
As hopefully you are aware, there are many events planned for the 4 day period and as these are organized we will do our best to post them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/CityNatureChallengeHFX/events
In addition to observing nature in your own backyard or any public green space, there are many places in HRM that can be explored – maybe visit a few of your favourite locations or be adventurous and discover new areas.
Below we have listed a number of websites that you may find useful. Have fun!
HRM parks, trails and gardens: https://www.halifax.ca/recreation/parks-trails-gardens
NS Nature Trust conservation lands: https://nsnt.ca/our-work/our-conservation-lands/
Eastern Shore Islands Area of Interest: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/aoi-si/easternshore-ilescoteest-eng.html
Halifax Regional Trails Association: https://hrta.ca/wp/members/
Halifax Bike Map 2018: https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/transportation/cycling-walking/00947TPWbikemap2018_KLW_fileforPrint.pdf
The clock is ticking – only 10 hours and 10 minutes until the City Nature Challenge starts here in Nova Scotia. If you wish to keep an eye on this countdown go to our iNaturalist project page https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-2019-halifax-regional-municipality .
Halifax is competing with 160+ cities from around the world and the start time for each city is 1 minute after midnight in their time zones. This means that on the other side of the world the City Nature Challenge has begun!
Hong Kong is currently in the lead with Christchurch not far behind. To follow the leaderboard go to https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2019
You don’t need to be signed in to iNaturalist to view the statistics, however, if you haven’t joined iNaturalist.ca yet you still have time to signup and help Halifax place respectably in the leaderboard. Our time clock is will hit zero at 00:01 tomorrow morning (Friday) and will run until 23:59 Monday night (midnight).
Are you ready?
If you have questions or need assistance just drop us a line at cnc2019hrm@gmail.com
Even though it was snowing earlier today people were starting to get geared up and a few went outdoors to practice using iNaturalist.
It is important for new iNatters to start taking photos and uploading to iNaturalist. After you post your first few observations make sure that the photos or sound clips were included and check that the position on the map is in the right part of the world! Also try to add a name to what you saw – it doesn’t have to be the species name – you can assign a general name such as plant or animal or bird or fungi.
If/when you have questions just drop us a line at cnc2019hrm@gmail.com
Initially photos that get uploaded may not be identified quickly - if that is the case take a look at your observation - Is it in focus? Too many shadows? Did you provide multiple shots from different angles? Learn what you should include to facilitate identification and keep this in mind the next time you go out exploring. Example if you are taking photos of trees you could include closeups of the bark, the leaves/needles, cones/etc as well as a photo of the entire tree. If taking photos of mushrooms remember to also photograph the underside of the cap (is it gilled?). If taking photos of flowers also include shots of leaves.
If others have suggestions on what to photograph for specific taxonomic groups or other advice for new iNaturalists please add info in the comment boxes below.
Before we know it April 26th will be here – its time now to prepare so that you are ready to get out exploring, observing and recording observations of wildlife. Take a moment or two and explore content on iNaturalist. Who has been recording what in your neighbourhood – just enter your postal code in the location box and then move around the map refreshing content as you change areas. Check out your favourite locations. Search for your favourite species and view recorded observations.
Next, if you have not already done so we would like to encourage you to join iNaturalist as soon as possible. Once you have joined you can start sharing your observations. Choose your method – perhaps you prefer to use the free app or perhaps you prefer using your camera and uploading photos online. Either method works.
Next, please join our HRM-CNC project – this is not required for your observations to be included in the challenge statistics, but your name will be included in the challenge’s leaderboard and you can monitor contributions from fellow participants in our area. Plus, by being a member of the iNat project you will be notified of news items and have access to suggested areas to explore. Under projects choose: ‘City Nature Challenge 2019: Halifax Regional Municipality’.
As a reminder, any observations recorded 00:01am Friday, April 26th to midnight on Monday April 29th will count towards the challenge. These observations must be uploaded to iNaturalist by midnight May 5th . The objective is to get the highest number of participants; the highest number of species; and the most number of observations – we need your help!
This year Halifax has accepted the challenge and in April 2019 we will be competing to see which city can make the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people. This means that we need all residents of HRM, students, commuters and visitors to our municipality to help us compete and highlight the biodiversity in our part of the world. In the process participants will get to explore urban and rural areas, learn more about local flora/fauna and have fun!
Check the News section below for information leading up to the challenge.
Participation is EASY and FREE! Download the iNaturalist app to your mobile device. During the time from April 26-29, use the app to upload photos of organisms to iNaturalist.ca and the iNaturalist community will help you identify them. It's as simple as that!
Stay tuned for updates! If you join our project now, you'll be notified when posts are made.
