Looking for new ideas related to iNaturalist? Part 3: Explore places

As mentioned many times, the objectives of our regional CNC projects are to encourage our entire community, old and young alike, to get outdoors, to explore, and to observe nature. Too often we think that we have to leave the Maritimes in order to go on an adventure. We hope that as part of the CNC you will learn that you don’t need to venture far from home.

Do you know exactly what lives just outside your door? Are you prepared to go outside and explore? What plants/weeds are growing in your yard? What lives under the rocks, behind the bushes, in the trees? What is growing next to the street and/or in cracks in the sidewalk?

Do you have a favourite park or green space in your neighbourhood? Plan to go on a solo adventure or get a group together and see if you can find as many species as possible. Challenge your relatives, friends, neighbours, coworkers, fellow dog walkers, anyone with a pulse …

Do you want to find new areas to explore? If you live in the urban Halifax area when was the last time that you explored local parks, gardens, and trails such as Point Pleasant Park, the Dingle (Sir Sandford Fleming Park), Fort Needham, the Public Gardens, or the Frog Pond? Have you ventured over to Dartmouth and visited Birch Cove Park or gone to Admiral Cove Park in Bedford? For more ideas of HRM places to visit click here.

Are you aware of the many trails in your area? Have you walked/hiked/biked/paddled any of the sections of The Great Trail? Check out the following iNat Great Trail umbrella project made for the 2020 CNC.

It isn’t necessary to have a car to get to many locations – perhaps you have access to a bicycle or perhaps you can hop on a bus.

During the CNC we hope that you will have many opportunities to observe nature in many different locations. It is not necessary for everyone to upload photos of every plant/animal that you see to iNaturalist. By signing up to iNat and sharing at least one observation you will help increase the #participants count. If you drag others along to keep you company encourage them to signup as well!

If you are out biking or hiking, consider looking around and observing nature at the start and end of your trip as well as during breaks. If you are keen take a few photos. Remember, photos don’t need to be uploaded to iNat immediately – wait and upload to iNat when back in a free wifi zone.

By sharing observations from many different locations, researchers will have access to a large pool of data required to study local, regional, national, and global geographic variations.

By exploring any location, you personally can gain an appreciation for the biodiversity all around us.

Although the CNC is restricted to a 4-day period following Earth Day we hope that you will enjoy using iNaturalist and will incorporate sharing observations of nature into your regular day to day routine. By exploring locations over periods of time you can/will observe seasonal and climatic changes. By sharing these observations with iNat, researchers (and the public) will have access to the data that they need to manage resources and study climate change.

Encourage others to come explore our Maritime provinces – We are lucky, we simply have to open our door, step outside, and an adventure can begin.

Publicado el sábado, 25 de enero de 2020 a las 08:21 PM por mkkennedy mkkennedy

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