It’s time again for Omaha to join the worldwide community for the 2020 City Nature Challenge! With our friends at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, we’re inviting everyone across the city to get outside and be a part of the effort. It’s easy to do, and it’s a fun way to help scientists know what plants, insects, birds, fungi, and other kinds of life are right here in our city. Plus, it’s a great way to connect with the natural world around us – and others across the globe who are joining the challenge too.
What is the City Nature Challenge?
People all over the world are working together to find and record as many living species as they can spot within their urban spaces during this four-day event, running April 24th through April 27th. Participants snap photos of what they find and upload them to the iNaturalist app, a sort of social media platform for naturalists of all skill levels. From there, the data is collected and made available for scientists and others to see. It’s the ultimate citizen-scientist project that provides valuable data about the plants and animals living in cities across the world.
Last year, participants in Omaha recorded 1,895 observations of more than 530 species. And we placed first in the world for research-grade species! Can we do it again? It’s up to all of us to jump in and help.
How to Get Started
Join us on Facebook Live as we kick off this year’s challenge on Friday, April 24th at 11:00am. We’ll walk you through how it all works and offer easy tips to help you find your own observations.
To get started, just download the iNaturalist app and create a new account if you don’t already have one. Then from April 24th through April 27th, join the challenge by following these simple steps:
- Look in the menu at the bottom of the iNaturalist app to find your Projects.
- Search “City Nature Challenge 2020: Omaha Metro” and click to join.
- Use the Observe button to start a new observation.
- Before submitting your observation, click Projects to add it to the challenge.
Beginners + Experts Alike
Don’t worry if you don’t know what it is that you’ve found. The iNaturalist app will offer suggestions to help you out. Just keep it at the most basic level that you feel confident in – calling it a “bird” is perfectly fine.
And for those with more experience identifying species of plants, animals, and other organisms, we need your help too. In the second phase of the City Nature Challenge, from April 28th through May 3rd, experts are encouraged to join the effort to confirm the identity of the species submitted during the challenge.
Places to Explore
The great thing is that you can participate right in your own backyard. Or if you venture out to other natural spaces in the city, just keep in mind that some locations have limited hours or access right now, so it’s a good idea to check ahead of time to see if that’s the case. And be sure to practice social distancing recommendations while you’re there too.
Get Outside + Connect with the Natural World
If you’ve been looking for educational activities to do with your kids, or you’ve just been wanting to get out of the house and engage in a meaningful way with the natural world, the City Nature Challenge is the perfect activity for all ages. Download the iNaturalist app, then join us as we kick off this year’s City Nature Challenge on Facebook Live. We hope to see you there, and we can’t wait to see what Omaha’s citizen scientists can spot this year.
