Diario del proyecto L.A. BioBlitz Challenge 2021

Hi everyone!

Thank you for your participation in the inaugural LA Bioblitz Challenge last summer. We have exciting news to share - LAPL and LASAN have decided to make the LA Bioblitz Challenge an annual event! Please join us for the second annual LA Bioblitz Challenge during the month of September (September 1st - September 30th) and connect with the 2022 iNaturalist project (inaturalist.org/projects/2022-la-bioblitz-challenge) to contribute your observations to the challenge. This year, our objective is to reach 10,000 observations. It’s a very big number, but we can do it with your amazing support.

Learn more about this year’s LA Bioblitz Challenge at the official project webpage (lapl.org/bioblitz).

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for your tremendous participation and support of the first L.A. BioBlitz Challenge. With the project concluding on August 7, we have some final results to share. Over eight weeks, 14,626 observations were made and 29 indicator specieswere identified. The three most observed indicator species were: monarch butterfly, red-tailed hawk, and great blue heron. The crowdsourcing of this data will help serve as a baseline for future research and studies to improve and protect local ecosystems and wildlife habitats in the City of Los Angeles.

Please reflect on and share your experiences to increase awareness about this native biodiversity hotspot. We enjoyed this time together. Thank you again and we hope you will join us next year. #LABioBlitz #LAPLNeiSci

The last days of the L.A. BioBlitz Challenge are here, ending on Saturday, August 7, so keep up the great effort until the end! The campaign team could not be more thrilled with all the observations submitted. The volunteer actions led by members of different neighborhoods and communities across the city have been heartening and inspirational. Thank you for contributing toward the common goal of mapping biodiversity in the city of Los Angeles. As a reminder, turn in your completed BioBlitz game card at an open Los Angeles Public Library location near you or fill out the online completion form by Monday, August 9 for a chance to win a prize. Visit lapl.org/bioblitz for the form and to review the prize rules. Thank you all again for your efforts these past two months! #LABioBlitz #LAPLNeiSci

The marvelous photos and images taken of L.A. wildlife have been inspiring, and your participation is making all the difference. More than 10,000 observations have been made since the start of the challenge. Please continue to contribute your pictures of wild animals, insects and plants as well as any indicator species. When you’re out and about, here are a few yet to be identified: Coachwhip, canyon wren, and roadrunner. Keep up the truly great effort and thank you. #LABioBlitz and #LAPLNeiSci

With just a little more than two weeks to go, the challenge has hit another milestone with more than 9,300 observations! Here’s another fun way to help and participate: Find and visit a gray pixel on the observation heat map near your home and see if you can find any interesting wild species in that area. If you do, remember to upload your pictures and share your findings on social media with the hashtags #LABioBlitz and #LAPLNeiSci . Thank you!

Participation and observations have steadily climbed since the beginning of the challenge, and we are thrilled so many of you have joined. Thank you for continuing to make observations around your homes and turning cold spots green on the observation heat map.

Please consider adding the hashtag #LABioBlitz and #LAPLNeiSci when sharing the wildlife you’ve photographed on social media to widen the awareness and a connection to the city’s biodiversity.

We are now halfway through the challenge and excited to provide this update for the month of June!

More than 200 indicator species have been identified from a total of 4,705 observations so far. We also have had a 7-percent reduction in biodiversity cold spots on the observation heat map across the city of Los Angeles, which is fantastic news! Check out the map and see if the area around your home is a cold spot, and if so make a few observations to turn it green! For more information, visit lapl.org/bioblitz.

An absolutely incredible start to the challenge! Our top five observed indicator species are currently:

1. Red-tailed hawk
2. Monarch butterfly
3. Baja California tree frog
4. Great blue heron
5. Mule deer

Thank you for these wonderful sightings and getting us to 4,045 observations and 1,008 species in week three! Looking ahead, we would like you to keep your eyes open for more indicator species (https://www.lapl.org/steam/bioblitz#indicator) that have not yet been seen as part of this challenge, like the hooded merganser, black-bellied salamander, and Bramble green hairstreak. Keep up the great observations and please share your photos on social media to help spread the awareness about the challenge. Remember to add the hashtag #LABioBlitz when sharing all the wildlife you’ve photographed!

​The goal of the L.A. BioBlitz Challenge is to expand our commitment to helping Angelenos learn more about our interconnectedness and reliance on the environment in a fun and engaging way. The objectives are to enumerate the city’s existing native biodiversity with particular attention to indicator species (https://www.lapl.org/steam/bioblitz#indicator), reduce cold spots on the observation heat map, and increase the awareness residents have of local wildlife and habitats.

Your participation in the L.A. BioBlitz Challenge can help us reach this goal! For more information, visit lapl.org/bioblitz.

Thank you for your participation as a neighborhood scientist in the inaugural L.A. BioBlitz Challenge! The results of the first week in this two month challenge are fantastic with 1,387 observations, 511 species, 328 observers and 280 identifiers from across the city of Los Angeles. Your observations are crowdsourced and will add to the body of knowledge about the city’s biodiversity. We hope you enjoy this challenge as summer arrives, and appreciate nature and wildlife around your homes and neighborhood. Thank you again for joining the L.A. BioBlitz Challenge and taking the time to submit your observations and identifications. We can’t wait to see more interesting wild species observed in our city in week 2! For more information, visit lapl.org/bioblitz.