Spring seems to be taking its time to pop up here in the Wasatch Back, but that doesn’t mean local residents can’t get up and enjoy the outdoors.
To help them do that, the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter will help local residents participate in the 2023 City Nature Challenge, which is scheduled to run from April 28-May 1, said Lead Naturalist Jess Oveson.
“The City Nature Challenge started in 2016 as a competition between (Los Angeles and San Francisco) to see who could identify the most natural species within their city boundaries and find who had the bigger population of nature nerds,” she said. “From there, it extended to a global effort that focuses on nature in urban settings. And it has become a reminder that nature is all around us, and that we should take a closer look at what is right next door to the sidewalks in our own neighborhoods.”
It’s easy to participate in the challenge, according to Oveson.
“You go outside and take a picture of something in nature that you’re interested in, which may be a bird in flight or an earthworm emerging from the dirt onto the sidewalk, or even a purple flower you’ve seen a hundred times that you finally have stopped to notice and want to find out the name,” she said. “Once you take a picture, you can upload it and submit it to the iNaturalist app, and any submissions made between April 28 through May 1 will go toward the challenge.”
The iNaturalist app, which is available at the Google and Apple app stores, is a community-science program that helps people identify plants and animals in the region, said Hunter Klingensmith, Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter visitor experience and exhibit manager.
“Community science is a form of community-based participatory research and anyone can get involved and become a community scientist that will help support and provide data that scientists will use in their research,” she said. “There are experts on the app who will help you identify the photos that you take, so researchers can use the data to find how many flocks are being spotted in an area or even identify a new species.”
iNaturalist, a joint initiative between the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, connects City Nature Challenge participants with a community of scientists and naturalists who can help them learn about nature, according to the iNaturalist website (inaturalist.org).
Summit County is one of eight counties that compose the Utah Wasatch group that is participating in the City Nature Challenge, said Oveson.
The other counties include Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Wasatch and Weber County, she said.
“We are trying to get as many submissions as we can so researchers can use the data to find how many flocks are being spotted in an area or even maybe identify a new species,” she said.
To help Summit County residents get started in the challenge, the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter is partnering with different organizations for Bioblitz events. (See accompanying schedule).
“These Bioblitzes will run about two hours, and we’ll see how many species we can capture within those times,” Oveson said. “During the kick-off Bioblitz party on Friday, we’ll have live music, family-friendly drinks and iPads available so people can learn about the iNaturalist app and how to access the challenge and participate.”
If people aren’t ready to download the iNaturalist app, the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter will provide access to iPads during each Bioblitz, Klingensmith said.
“That way people can use the app and get a feel of what it’s all about,” she said.
From May 2-7, the City Nature Challenge scientists will work to identify the different species in the photos. They will announce the results on May 8.
While the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter has participated in past City Nature Challenges, this will be the first year the nonprofit’s efforts will be led by Oveson, according to Klingensmith.
“Jess has kind of taken this event on and helped it grow so it has a broader reach,” she said. “Part of Swaner’s mission to preserve, educate and nurture is helping people recognize the nature they are surrounded by, and to find new ways to be engaged in the nature around them. So this is the perfect event to do that.”
Oveson enjoys working with other community partners during the challenge.
“The Natural History Museum of Utah is the one who spearheads Utah’s participation, and they do a fantastic job facilitating all these wonderful groups in Northern Utah,” she said. “Locally, we’re really lucky to partner with Park City Library, Summit County Library, Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District for this event.”
Oveson would like to see a large turnout at each of the Bioblitzes.
“One of my goals for this year’s City Nature Challenge is to engage parts of the population who love nature but don’t necessarily make it into the Swaner EcoCenter,” she said. “I would like to, hopefully, turn them onto what’s going on in their own backyards and show them how amazing our own ecosystems are.”