The Spring 2017 Challenge has ended. Check out the final results.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side of the Triangle
We need YOUR help snapping photos of Triangle area plants, animals, and fungi. Wolfpack Citizen Scientists are joining the NC Museum of Natural Sciences to document local biodiversity for the City Nature Challenge.
What
The City Nature Challenge is a competition between several American cities to see who can document the most biodiversity on iNaturalist over a 5-day period. We’ll be competing against cities that are a lot bigger than the Triangle (Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and others), but North Carolina’s amazing biodiversity and the great urban wildlife we see every day can help us win. We’ve got prizes for top campus participants as a thank you, too!
Every observation can contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. Observations submitted to the City Nature Challenge will be added to the Museum’s Natural North Carolina project, a growing record of biodiversity that can be used for education, to study the impacts of climate change, and to watch the movement of native and invasive species over time.
When
- April 14-18, 2017
- Last day to submit observations to iNaturalist: April 30, 2017
How
- Download the iNaturalist smartphone app for Android or Apple to submit observations as you go, or carry a camera with you and upload your photos through the website.
- After creating your account, go to Projects, search for NCSU Wolfpack Citizen Science Challenge, and join the project.
- When adding an observation using the app, tap on Projects and choose NCSU Wolfpack Citizen Science Challenge. When adding an observation using the website, go to NCSU Wolfpack Citizen Science Challenge and click on Add Observations.
- Download our quick guide for detailed instructions.
- Share your best photos on Instagram using the hashtag #WolfpackCitSci.
Where
- On April 13, join us for a campus walk led by Dr. Madhu Katti to learn how to use iNaturalist, take pictures, and contribute to the project.
- From April 14-18, visit any outdoor space in the Triangle area, take photos of the plants, animals, and fungi you see, and submit them to iNaturalist!
- On April 14, join us at the downtown Raleigh campus of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for special biodiversity talks in the Daily Planet Theater, hands-on training in how to use iNaturalist, and opportunities to go outside and collect data around the Museum with an iNaturalist expert.
- On April 15, visit Prairie Ridge Ecostation to help us document the wildlife there. We’ll have guided nature hikes throughout the day and hands-on iNaturalist training to help you get started.
- On April 17, join us for a walk around Lake Raleigh led by Dr. Matt Bertone to learn how to use iNaturalist, take pictures, and contribute to the project.
Prizes
There will be prizes for the top Triangle and top NC State contributors. We will also give Wolfpack Citizen Science Challenge t-shirts to 23 randomly chosen participants.
More About the Wolfpack Citizen Science Challenge
The Wolfpack Citizen Science Challenge engages the campus community as collaborators in ongoing research about their environment. Read about the Fall 2016 Wolfpack Citizen Science Challege.
