Eugene and Springfield are among 145 cities worldwide participating in what’s called the City Nature Challenge. It starts Friday, April 30th.
If you’ve got a smartphone or tablet, you can participate in the challenge, an effort to map urban wildlife over a four day period.
Elizabeth Goward, volunteer programs manager with McKenzie River Trust, said, using the free I-naturalist app, you can photograph wildlife in the urban environment. “Anything from plants to birds to bugs, worms, really most science is happening in more remote areas and generally in the context of academia,” Goward said. “So, what this project really aims to do is to document as much biodiversity as possible.”
Scientists then catalog those photos..
“And that actually will get wrapped into this big catalog that helps to create a picture of the urban environment here in Eugene and Springfield,” Goward added.
She also gave a caveat: your pet hamster, dog, or a tomato plant are not what they’re looking for. There are local events planned in Eugene and Springfield during the City Nature Challenge from April 30th through May 3rd.
Details at citynaturechallenge.org.
This years's City Nature Challenge in Eugene-Springfield is a collaboration with the City of Eugene Parks & Open Space, the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council, the Friends of Buford Park an Mt. Pisgah, the McKenzie River Trust, the Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council, Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, the Native Plant Society of Oregon Emerald Chapter, Nearby Nature, the Northwest Youth Corps, Willamalane Parks & Recreation district, Willamette River Education Network (WREN), and Willamette River Keeper. Participants can explore their neighborhoods, local parks and natural areas independently or join in hosted BioBlitz with a partnering organization.
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