Calling all community scientists! The City of Los Angeles is actively participating in the 2023 City Nature Challenge between April 28 and May 1, 2023, and we need your help! 

 

Sponsored by the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum and the California Academy of Sciences, the City Nature Challenge is an annual competition to document the nature that is all around us here in Los Angeles and across the globe. What started out as a friendly competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2016 has evolved into an opportunity for people to engage with their communities, document nature and better understand urban biodiversity. Here’s how you can participate in four easy steps:

 

  1. Learn more about the 2023 City Nature Challenge by visiting their website.
  2. Download the iNaturalist app onto your smartphone.
  3. Plan on taking as many photos of wild plants and animals in your community as possible between the observation period of April 28 and May 1, 2023.
  4. Upload those photos onto your iNaturalist app by May 7.

 

That’s it! During the subsequent identification period, which goes through May 7, participants who are good at identifying local plants and animals will help to identify all of the photos of wildlife uploaded during the observation phase of the challenge. Results will be released on May 8, so check back then to see the number of observations that were made including the number of recorded species, number of participants and how Los Angeles contributed to the totals. 

 

You may be asking, “Why is this important?” It’s important because Los Angeles, as one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots, is so big that we can’t understand biodiversity patterns without the photos and observations of community scientists. By participating, you are contributing to the knowledge about the City’s biodiversity, which will support the protection and conservation of local wildlife and their habitats. It’s only when we understand patterns of wildlife abundance and distribution that we can effectively manage it.

 

Since the City Nature Challenge’s start in 2016, a whopping 1.5 million observations of wildlife here in LA County have been uploaded to the iNaturalist platform. And, while that may seem like a lot, we need observations to continue on an ongoing basis to understand biodiversity patterns here in LA. Photos and observations by community scientists help us build an international database to understand how wildlife abundance and distribution here in Los Angeles, and around the globe, change over time.

 

Here are additional resources that you may find helpful:

  • 2023 CNC video in English and in Spanish
  • iNaturalist has a great page that includes short video tutorials.
  • Los Angeles Public Libraries have a Neighborhood Science Program that includes Neighborhood Science Kits, which is a collection of tools that can help you study LA’s biodiversity. They are available at participating library branches but please call to check on their availability.
  • Learn more about LASAN’s Biodiversity Program, which is tracking the presence and distribution of 37 biodiversity indicator species.  These species are great indicator species as they are typically dependent on natural areas and “umbrella” species, meaning that if they are present in an area, there is likely a robust ecosystem or natural community present.
  • Kat Superfisky, an Urban Ecologist from LA City Planning, recorded this super fun PSA with Channel 35 that provides a great summary of the City Nature Challenge. 

 

We encourage everyone to join us as we all spring into the 2023 City Nature Challenge!

 

Photo courtesy of Vivienne Byrd.