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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gardening: Challenge yourself to observe this spring

By Pat Munts For The Spokesman-Review

Everybody loves a good contest. Especially one that involves the whole family in a little friendly competition with neighbors around the world.

Such is the City Nature Challenge coming up this weekend. Between Friday and Monday, communities around the world will be making observations in nature in their local communities and uploading them to the iNaturalist app for inclusion in a project that measures the biodiversity of their community. Locally, the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy is sponsoring Spokane’s first City Nature Challenge and is asking everyone to get out in nature and make observations.

By documenting the species of plants and animals in an area, scientists and the community gain an understanding of the biological diversity found there. Over time, these observations can show changes in biologic patterns.

“It helps us know about our land, its diversity and whether we are succeeding in maintaining that diversity,” Rose Richardson of the INLC said.

Once observations are uploaded to iNaturalist and their identification is confirmed, they are tallied and reported back to the local and global community involved in the project. In a city that bills itself as “Near Nature, Near Perfect,” what better way to show off what we have?

Getting involved is easy. First, join one of the hikes being sponsored by the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy or head to your favorite patch of nature. Register for hikes at the INLC’s website: inlandnwland.org/events. Among the hikes offered are visits to the Waikiki Springs Nature Preserve, Saltese Flats Wetlands, Liberty Lake Regional Park, Bear Lake Regional Park and several in partnership with the Dishman Hills Conservatory in the Dishman Hills. Each hike will be hosted by a local nature expert and is free. Hikes will be on variable ground and will happen rain or shine, so come prepared.

Next, download the free iNaturalist app on your phone and be ready to take photos and upload them to their website. As you walk along, look for plants, insects, birds and animals that intrigue you and take a close-up picture of them with the app and upload your picture. The app will tell you what you are seeing. Your photos will be reviewed by experts and gathered together with other observations and reported back to the community and the global project as to the number of observations made and species observed.

While we would call this just some serious fun, this is an example of what are called citizen scientist observations and is an important way for scientists to gather information they don’t have the time or resources to collect. Having citizens help them gather information helps us all understand who we share our environment with. Come join us.