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Calling all Calgary iNaturalist POWER USERS
Hello everyone,
You are the top iNaturalist observers within the Calgary region and I am putting out a call for you to participate in the Calgary City Nature Challenge 2024 (April 26-29). We "diehard" iNatters refer to this elite group as the Power Users of Calgary. With 5,968 contributors you represent the top 2% of our contributions in the area. Kudos to you for your elite status!
This year City Nature Challenge (CNC) will have nearly 700 cities competing and collaborating worldwide. There are 49 cities across Canada participating and I really would like us to make it to the top! We have a really good chance here in Calgary to be the top Canadian city for observations (and potentially participation). I would be very pleased if we made into the top 100 cities worldwide for any of the three categories:
1) Number of observations
2) Number of species
3) Number of participants
Over the past five years, CNC has contributed 32,700 observations to our region. It has always been my goal of achieving a minimum of 10K observations during the CNC but have struggled to really recruit new participants that are willing to submit lots of observations.
If each of us posted a minimum of 100 observations (or 25 observations each day), we could easily make it happen! Of course, please don't limit yourself to only 100 if you feel like you can do more! If we locked in 15,000 posts during CNC we would be in the top 30 cities around the world which would be a huge feat!
My personal record for CNC is 1612 but it was no easy take. I was spending around 10 hours a day a visiting as many parks as possible. I would burn through at least 3 full batteries a day and duplicating any observations I could. This year, due to time and scheduling conflicts, I don't think I'll be able to achieve anywhere that amount. However, with your help I am certain we can get close to the goal! I would be willing to provide someone with a gift card out for dinner if they can break the 2000 observation mark, simply for their dedication and effort! If it happens, I'll send you a private message after the event to sort things out.
So just as a quick recap for the "rules" of CNC 2024:
1) Observations must be made (photos taken or audio recorded) April 26-29
2) The deadline to submit observations is midnight May 5
3) The global and national results will be posted May 6
Other:
If you join the project, please select the "trust with hidden coordinates" button. This allows for me to analyze the results including obscured locations. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, please avoid obscuring observations unless they are at your personal residence or the species is highly sensitive (aka owls) I assure you nobody cares which park you visited, or which street you walked along to make your observations so please only use the obscure function when it is really needed. When we get tons of obscured observations, the map is more or less useless as the randomized area covers the entire city (and there is no real way to exclude these from the analysis without losing all of the observations).
Of course, please encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to get outside and get involved! I am assisting with organizing events across the city which are free to participate in. There are ample opportunities to get people out to new zones and explore. You can find a tentative list of events (more to come) on the website www.citynatureyyc.ca.
To maximize our observations, please upload photos of individual plants. Duplicate observations which may contain a plant and a pollinator. This will assist with the Calgary Pollinators project as well as mapping out the phenology of plants and distribution within our parks. You CAN include "captive/cultivated" observations during the CNC but please be sure to mark them when posting.
If you are also posting your photos to Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you can the CNC YYC page at @CityNatureYYC where I can reshare your posts and hopefully amplify your presence.
That's about it but I really really really hope that you'll participate! Please feel free to visit the website and contact me with any questions you may have citynatureyyc@gmail.com
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For everyone on the list below, you are one of the 300 people who have contributed an observation to the Calgary Region in 2024! Please see the post above for a rundown of being a POWER USER on iNaturalist during the City Nature Challenge April 26-29. With your help we can be the top-performing Canadian city and hopefully make it into the top 100 cities worldwide!
@ngoomie @quinnbirds @wowokayyes @unraisedshelf @unknownalloy @birds_and_butterflies @touchstone @ccfisher @norbertkondla @base736 @stevenhayward @cllynn101 @malamutepoint @pamfromcalgary @grandmabirder @rbbrummitt @jmarmand @autumnbis @larryhalverson @dylanmcgeoch @sav_vy @sentraxion @blakeweis @idfennell @swift_fox @andrey_atuchin @andy47632 @calebcatto @jamfries @allison188 @noelle_jane_gonzales1 @aaronroberge @crowe85 @ljbrew @mathiasfenton @mathis3 @mmskis @jenkoppe @katrinekonopnicki @maddy_talpt @sussyballs @chrisandwendylunn @ernestolepesto @izzydeak @rwr @wynaturalist @thelightwithin @vangaman @ammlmt @dwhitey @harrissali @kazeki @leisah @manysprings @sugarcatmom @jim_stlaurent @rbrownrn @steveansell @alexissabella @lizsoria @naturenickpics @rachecairns @bob73 @larryness @cheddahcurt @jl_is_bored @stinkydog @wildgrace @yayosalazar @zoemo @allehea @anthonywood @bazner3255 @brittanyclaeys @canuckamok @dadonnelly @em777 @je9h @lilwigs @outdoorerik @rosannef @sabrina_marino @vulpesmacroura @arthurveitch @bloomingbeegardening @cwf_kateh @doug2023 @elihill4567 @gregappleyard @kayesyd @kingbeans @leo_pepolas @monkeyfan98 @murrayyyc @pbulman @savenosecreek @sethalbright @tara48546 @wlove673 @yuvaraptor @abbie_p @acovington @adam_kalab @angusjlothian @blaine_thomson @darcie_quamme @drsjb @foxtrot @georgiaporgia @jfearns @jonreberlio @kentpointon @kerwinwang @mason_kulbaba @msnewel @nicholegillan1 @olivernoseworthy @orilch @rubusspectabilis @scottj800 @sophias003 @stypnzelda @tarocchi_tony @tirian @aaronveale @abeemcc @andrew3145 @babanskyi @bailinator @bjohnston5 @dominicentomology @drift3 @eachorti @ewhee285 @gregoryc32 @huntybunty @i-m @jennifer_hogan @jhnature @kestrel-- @lagomorphia @ldahmani @michael18688 @mikeyincalgary @mkrista @mrpippin92 @muskoka_girl @mw9999 @nbhowmick @oliver_g_jones @orianamonette @petal_power @powderslayer @prairieboy @sarahcalgary @selenaclauson @stuart75737 @suzannetwelker @takemeoutside_amanda @thexnie @tj57480 @tlsherdahl @tram14 @trent306 @wormsindirt @actyrell @adalifan @aheidman @aircalgary @akhilaa @alesio_carello @allisonx @andiedombrova @anisajk @antiterrorclub @aputamkiejit @ariana_melgar @astronomichelle @awevers @beans01 @bee_w @bennett_grappone @bianca625 @bluebur @caprisunhinged @carleelagler @carrothairs @charlie_myles @chusym @clowness @colinking @creationkeeper @crystal_reynolds @dana127 @danielayr @dante_play @david_legros @davidrscott @davirodrigues @deemdeem52 @denver8 @dganders @dingusdongus @diybirdtoys @dkmet @dollyfarton @dphill @dragonmagii @duskyblue @e_kazakoff @ec_9999 @emma_hu @evilu @familywatson @fseyfi @gmckinnon @graemehop @gs57 @hazel242 @holroydg @idmacdonald @ingolfaskevold @ivan1067 @iyaad2 @j_olivia_k @jamesepaterson @jerez @jessicafhay @jesspanda @jpheule @jtedworthy @juliagg @junie_telus @jzanella @karina92883 @kathjohnson @klmg @ktmarcus @kunlu @laurelwillow @limberpine @lourdes_fericgla_rovira @luciafu @maddy79290 @makennacorson @marnixvenema @mcquaid @meg259649an @mel141 @mickichong1 @mlb0509 @mloho @nickbedard @nikita176 @nnataliaa @northdarling @northover @nothingtrue @nschmidt86 @ojgregg @olenayyc @oracleofdelphi @parkermakk @patriceo @pck_rr9 @plj @prairieberry @quinnhk @ravi403 @rbbirder @rebeccacelinesmith @rinrat86 @rjwood236 @roza87856 @rubus_idaeus @sadiepopoff @sailingclimber @samanthalc @sandrabinns @saratuell @scottiep @sean99371 @seealso @serena211 @shawnb2 @smartforest @sp667 @stephoto @stevelibs @sunita_sanker_clarke @syan1 @teenahhhh @tessgir @thealibin @tmills @tommyvg @vaucher @wendykev @whatzit @younggucci @yyccornes @zhiyong_zhao
I was already planning on joining the city nature challenge, I'm super excited for it! I was thinking about finally walking over to Weaselhead Flats, so maybe I'll intentionally wait until the CNC to do that.
I'd also like to throw in the idea of doing the same sort of things for observations of predators actively/visibly hunting or eating prey. Recently suggested this to a (non-Calgarian) friend of mine I got to sign up to iNat. Then you can also contribute to the very cool "Who Eats Whom?" project :3
@ngoomie Great tip! Typically we get our fish observations from Osprey and Mergansers who are pulling them out of the river but this is another way to maximize our observation and species count!
Unforunately I will away on a school trip for all days save Monday the 29th, but that is probably enough time to walk over to Lawrey Gardens and try my best.
Top 2% in such a large city! Holy! I'll do my best to get as many as possible, this nice weather is really making me itch to get outside anyway :^)
Excellent point about predator & prey, insect & plant as separate observations.
Are there any restrictions on which observations will count, i.e. RG or specific taxonomic levels?
Dang. I’m unable to participate as will be at our BC property the entire time. Have fun and good luck everyone!
Looking forward to it. Will be helping with the Alberta Wilderness Association walk in Big Hill Spring on Apr 27 as part of the #CityNatureChallenge2024. https://albertawilderness.ca/product/adventure-for-wilderness-big-hill-spring-citizen-science-wander/
@unraisedshelf there are no restrictions on what can be observed or the quality of the observation. Ideally we want to get all of our posts to RG and flag any captive/cultivated posts during the identification period (April 30-May 5). As long as we flag these posts, feel free to add in street trees and garden plants during the event!
looking forward to it... :)
What if I observe something that I cannot get a photo or audio record of? For example, saw a bat this evening
... can I make an observation without evidence? Esp since I cannot tell what kind it would be.
@rintat86 Yes, you could make a post without any media but it will remain as "casual" in perpetuity. Providing as much detail as you can is always beneficial!
One of the main things for all of us to keep in mind is that we so often overlook things like trees, grasses, lichens, and shrubs. Keep it simple and they are easy to photograph! Good Luck everyone!
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