Baltimore City Nature Challenge: Learn to use iNaturalist

Baltimore is participating in the City Nature Challenge (CNC) again this year! The CNC is an annual friendly competition among cities across the globe to find and document plants and wildlife over a four-day period (April 26 – April 29) using the iNaturalist app.

Why participate? There is nature all around us, even in our cities! Knowing what species are in our metro area and where they are helps us study and protect them, but the ONLY way to do that is by all of us—working together to find and document the nature in our area. By participating in the CNC, not only do you learn more about your local nature, but you can also make your city a better place—for you and other species! In Baltimore, our 2018 CNC research-grade data was been used in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and in the Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition’s Baltimore Biodiversity Toolkit.

The Natural History Society of Maryland would like to make sure you are ready for this bioblitz! You don’t need to be a wildlife expert—all skill levels are welcome to participate. Download iNaturalist and join us for an evening presentation on how to use the app with National Park Ranger, Bill Curtis. Who will also be leading a trip into the field the following Saturday (4/27) so you can practice all that you’ve learned and represent Baltimore’s plants and wildlife!

Who is Bill?

Bill Curtis is a National Park Ranger currently stationed at Hampton National Historic Site and Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. While a history major at Gettysburg College, he began his career as a Licensed Battlefield Guide.  His NPS career has included full time duty as an interpreter, law enforcement officer, and he now works in the Resource Management Division, splitting his time between museum work and helping to care for the historic landscape. He is a Maryland Master Naturalist, and he is happily married and the proud father of two.

Bill, like most of the other people who provide educational programs at NHSM, is a volunteer, so your money goes directly to support the programs, the nature collections, and the building that make this kind of nature education possible. Donate or become a member of the Natural History Society of Maryland by visiting https://marylandnature.org/support-maryland-nature/.