Intro to the City Nature Challenge 2021 and iNaturalist
ONLINE* Thursday, April 29; 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Instructor: Jonathan Marchal
Free | Suggested donation $15
BRN or BREG, Elective credit (1 hour) | NCEE, Criteria II or III**
Be part of a worldwide effort to document the planet's biodiversity! Join Arboretum Education Director Jonathan Marchal to learn how you can participate as part of Team WNC in the 2021 City Nature Challenge, scheduled for April 30 to May 3. This friendly competition between other cities and regions in North Carolina and across the world is designed to see who can document the most sightings of plants, insects, animals and more! Get pointers on using the iNaturalist mobile app or iNaturalist.org website to upload photo observations of living organisms so that they can be identified with the help of an online community of naturalists, including scientists. What's more, these observations aid in the scientific understanding of the biodiversity of our state!
By taking this course you'll learn how to use iNaturalist to find new places to explore, get help identifying plants and animals in your own neighborhood, and help Team WNC gain world domination in our ecologically diverse place on the planet! Plus you can earn a cool patch in the process! Participants who complete the course as well as post at least 40 observations and 10 identifications in the City Nature Challenge will receive a free NC BioBlitz patch.
*Instructions for joining via Zoom will be included in a reminder email sent to registrants by the day prior to the event. Please add adulteducation@ncarboretum.org to your contacts so our emails do not end up in your spam folder. A recording of the class will be made available to registered participants for a limited period following the session for review and to provide access to those with scheduling conflicts.
**Upon registration, participants will be asked to identify if they are seeking certificate credit through Arboretum certificate of merit programs or NC Environmental Education. Responses will prompt further communication regarding requirements and reporting for credit.
Jonathan Marchal serves as Director of Education at the Arboretum and is the creator of ecoEXPLORE, a youth citizen science initiative. He has been leading outdoor ecology and recreation programming for over twenty years for youth and adults, and was named the 2019 Naturalist of the Year by the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network. He has prior work experience with the National Park System, North Carolina State Parks and Trout Unlimited. He is an award winning, certified environmental educator and has served as the president of the Environmental Educators of North Carolina. Jonathan holds an AAS in Recreation and Wildlife Management, a BA in Ecology and a Master’s Degree in Park, Recreation and Tourism Management. He is the project lead for Team WNC in the City Nature Challenge.
This class is free with the option to include a suggested donation appearing in your cart at check out. Your generous contribution goes to support education programs at the Arboretum.
To become an Arboretum Member and receive discounts on all future classes, go to our Membership page.