Documenting Nature in 2017

Hello Natural North Carolinians!

It's been a while since I said it, but THANK YOU all for participating in this project. 2016 was our best year yet as we doubled the number of contributors and added over 7000 observations to the project. That almost doubled the number of observations that had been made the previous two years combined! So thank you so much for your continued participation in Natural North Carolina. This project doesn't work without YOUR help - we literally can't do it without you!

A few updates! First, I'm setting a goal of 25,000 observations by the end of 2017. That's about 9000 observations for the year. I think we can do it, so keep submitting your observations to help us reach the goal!

Second, the second annual NC Statewide Bioblitz is coming up in April, so be on the lookout for more information about that. As we did last year, we'll have prizes for the top contributors in the state and are competing to see which nature centers can document the most biodiversity in their areas. I'll keep you posted as dates of various events are chosen, but if you're in the Triangle area, we're competing in the City Nature Challenge this year April 14-17 and will have our local event that weekend. Not only will we be competing against other areas in the state, but we'll be competing against other cities across the country to see who can document the most biodiversity. We can win this!! We're having a few public events related to this nationwide event at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. You can join us in downtown Raleigh on April 14 or at Prairie Ridge Ecostation on April 15 to get involved- or participate anywhere else in the Triangle that suits your fancy. At either Museum event, you can learn more about this project, what we've learned so far, and make some observations outdoors. The event at Prairie Ridge will include guided walks and we'll have a lot of resources available to help you ID things while you're there. I'll also be hosting a few "how to" sessions both days that will walk people who are new to the project through the smartphone app and website, so feel free to recruit new people! The City Nature Challenge is a GREAT time for them to get involved as it gives us a better chance to beat the other cities that are participating.

And finally, I'm planning to start a Facebook page soon to highlight some of the great observations you all are making. The page will feature news and project updates as well as observations of the week. I'll let you know here when that's online. I hope it will add an extra element to the project and will help get more people involved!

Thanks again for all the hard work you have put into this project already! I am looking forward to 2017 and the amazing things we can accomplish to document North Carolina's amazing biodiversity - together!

Publicado el enero 12, 2017 07:36 TARDE por chrisgoforth