February 1, 2023
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Amber King, brnaturechallenge@gmail.com
The Baton Rouge City Nature Challenge 2023
BATON ROUGE– Now that smart phone technology is a common part of our lives, scientists have access to an unlimited volunteer pool to collect scientific data — all of us! A picture is worth a thousand words, as scientists can use our photos for any number of studies, such as bloom times, flowers preferred by bees, presence of a disease, species surveys, track new invasive species, and so on. The Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge invite everyone to explore the outdoors April 28 to May 1, 2023 and document the wildlife they can find during the “City Nature Challenge.” People of all ages in the Baton Rouge region can participate by posting photos of organisms into the iNaturalist app or iNaturalist.org website.
It’s a Competition
The City Nature Challenge is a friendly four-day international competition, April 28 to May 1, 2023, to see which locale can show the most wildlife in their area.
Taking part is easy!
· Find wildlife or plant life anywhere outside. (Wild ones only, please - no landscape plants or pets)
· Snap photos of what you find with your phone or camera.
· Share your observations in the iNaturalist.org website or on the iNaturalist mobile app.
· Great job, go find more!
The competition is to determine which city can observe the most wild organisms, document the most species, and have the most participants. The contest is four days long, and you can participate any time during the four days and for as long as you want. Nature is everywhere, and this is a great opportunity to go on a neighborhood walk with the family, visit a park or conservation area, observe wild birds at the bird feeder, look under pots and leaves in the yard, or visit a nearby creek.
The contest begins Friday, April 28 at 12:01 a.m. and runs through Monday, May 1 at 11:59 p.m. People of all ages are encouraged to participate and the collective scientific efforts from participants around the world will be tallied with results announced on May 8.
12-Parish Region
iNaturalist observations made in these 12 parishes during the 4-day City Nature Challenge will automatically count toward the Baton Rouge Region’s contest project: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.
The Baton Rouge Region is a Contender
2022 was only the second year that the Baton Rouge region participated in the City Nature Challenge, and over 15,100 observations were made of our incredible biodiversity. The Baton Rouge Region placed 27th in the world and 14th in the U.S., and this year we are ready to build upon this success and beat our neighbors in Texas! The overall winner in 2022 was La Paz, Bolivia.
Nature is for Everyone
The City Nature Challenge is a community effort, and local organizations have come together to help promote and participate in the contest:
Baton Rouge Mycological Society
Capital Area Beekeepers Association
East Baton Rouge Parish Library
Gulf South Mycological Society
Louisiana Amphibian and Reptile Enthusiasts (L.A.R.E.)
Louisiana Master Gardeners of East Baton Rouge and the Felicianas
Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge
Louisiana Photographic Society
Port Hudson State Historic Site
Purple Martin Conservation Initiative
Our local mascots for 2023 are the Prothonotary Warbler and the Io Moth. The greenspace of the year is Joyce WMA.
The global organizers of the City Nature Challenge are the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, www.citynaturechallenge.org.
iNaturalist can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play store.
For more information, visit www.brnaturechallenge.org or contact the Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge at brnaturechallenge@gmail.com.
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Photos Available for Media and Outreach
The City Nature Challenge logo for the Baton Rouge Region.
Connor Lemoine looks at ducks with his binoculars at BREC’s Forest Community Park. Photo by Amber King.
Miles Bowman looks for insects and spiders at Hilltop Arboretum. Photo by Amber King.
The delicate and unusual spider that Miles Bowman found, a Stretched Thief Spider. Photo by Amber King.
Raegan Raske examines fish and macroinvertebrates with Master Naturalist Amanda Marshall. Photo by Amber King.
Molly Chapman and her kids use sweep nets to look for insects at LSU’s Hilltop Arboretum. Photo by Amber King.
Dax and Connor Lemoine look for wildlife in a pond. They caught a fish and a crawfish and posted photos of them in the iNaturalist app. Photo by Amber King.
Brady Goad examines an aquatic snail he found in the pond during the Family Field Day at LSU’s Hilltop Arboretum on Feb. 25, 2023. Brady is also an intrepid butterfly catcher and caught the most butterflies during the event. Participants looked for wild organisms and practiced making iNaturalist observations for the upcoming City Nature Challenge. Photo by Amber King.
Miles Bowman and Dax Lemoine watch for macroinvertebrate movement in the shallows of the pond at LSU’s Hilltop Arboretum. Photo by Amber King.
Eli Chapman shows his mother, Molly, a crawfish he caught in the pond at LSU’s Hilltop Arboretum. Then a close-up photo of the crawfish was uploaded into iNaturalist to practice for the City Nature Challenge coming up April 28 - May 1, 2023. The crawfish was released back into the pond. Photo by Amber King.