There is no doubt about it, the people who took part did take action towards global conservation efforts. It was Great to Be the Reason Nature Believes in Humanity. Thank you one and all for taking part for Saskatoon and Area!
The Saskatoon Nature Society came on board, and really pulled through! The City of Saskatoon entomologist, Sydney Worthy, was host at an insect workshop which helped the CNC and this workshop is still having ripple effects through the school system. The Saskatchewan Mycological Working Group were host to a Fungi and Lichen Workshop which likewise is having amazing spin-offs! Appreciation is extended to the Prairie Conservation Action Plan for hosting a City Nature Challenge presentation for the Native Prairie Speakers Series. For these and other City Nature Challenge virtual webinars and workshops, see YouTube. Thanks to the University of Saskatchewan environment and sustainability classes for their contributions. The classrooms of students from the Saskatoon Public School Board and the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools were wonderful to see the student enthusiasm at both Brightwater at the afforestation areas, and around Saskatoon. Thanks to the Meewasin staff at Beaver Creek for helping out! Thank you to the Canadian Wildlife Federation WILD group for their assistance. Appreciations and rounds of applause to @lysandra, @MaryKrieger, @sarasims, Jacey Bell, Donovan Thiessen, andall the iNaturalist Observers and Identifiers. Thanks to the City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon Nature Society, SaskTel, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, Mosaic, EcoFriendly West were super to help with the logistics for the planning this event. Thanks to everyone in the area around Saskatoon. Check out “explore” on iNat or go to BioSmart. Hats off to Wild About Saskatoon, Cpaws and Nature Conservancy of Canada for helping to make the event happen, indeed. We wish to say thank you kindly to the Saskatoon Media Group for their radio announcements also, that was wonderful to get the word out! Thanks to everyone who shared the social media assets as well. It was wonderful to meet the organizing crew of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, California Academy of Sciences, Natural History Museum Los Angeles County. In the words of Richard St. Barbe Baker, Twihamwe or pull together echoes the Province of Saskatchewan Motto, Multis e gentibus vires (From Many Peoples Strength). This pulling together happened during the first ever Saskatoon City Nature Challenge and our statistics show we had the second highest results for the prairie provinces in Canada – imagine that! What a show of support for wildlife and conservation! If we have inadvertently missed any group or contributing organization, please email, and we apologize most humbly – it has been a most busy week. And, of course, thank you to all the individuals who are passionate about nature and who helped out just because they like to be out in nature, and taking observations, or helping with identifications, it was an amazing four day bio-blitz cram session.
The Global City Nature Challenge Statistics show an amazing result: 1,570,392 Observations worldwide. 50,270 Total Species were observed Globally. 64,238 People around the World took part.
In Saskatoon and area, in this very early springtime, there were 14 species at risk sighted.
Thank you to everyone who went outside in Nature between April 29 – May 2 for the #CNC2022! This was a great undertaking to join the International initiative to collect information about the wildlife flourishing in Saskatoon and area. It was the very first year for the City Nature Challenge Saskatoon and Area.
Send in your cool/unusual/rare sightings!
New finds! Species that haven’t been recorded in particular areas before. Important finds of rare/endangered/threatened species. Observations that have a great story that go along with them. Really cool photos. Fun finds!
Send your photos of yourself, your friends or your family taking images in nature with iNaturalist! friendsafforestation@gmail.com
Of course, one can always use the iNaturalist app, or eBird to document nature and help conservation efforts even now that the City Nature Challenge is over.
Researchers, school groups, citizens and wildlife enthusiasts across the world did indeed tak part in this race against the clock to put nature on the map, submitting photos and observations of wildlife in their neighbourhoods and greenspaces through the free, easy to use iNaturalist smart phone app.
By observing local nature, everyone can support vital conservation research while connecting with nature and enjoying the outdoors.
Whether you are an expert, a seasoned #BioBlitz participant or getting involved for the first time, it couldn’t be easier to join in.
Simply download the iNaturalist app, take a photograph of nature in your local area – whether that’s a tree, plant or insect or animal – and upload. You don’t even have to know anything about the species you are observing. Teams of experts will be reviewing and updating the information that’s submitted, so you can log back in later and learn more about what you’ve spotted.
Help put the City of Saskatoon on the world nature scene! Using iNaturalist take photos of plants, animals, insects and mushrooms between April 29 – May 2, 2022! Saskatoon will compete for the title of the most Biodiverse City. We need your help.
Saskatoon and area will compete for the title of the most Biodiverse City. We need your help. The goals are to engage the public in the collection of biodiversity data, with three awards each year for the cities and areas that 1/ makes the most observations, 2/ find the most species, and 3/ engage the most people. We’re so excited to have this fun friendly competition with a chance to place Saskatoon and Area on the World Stage for the City Nature Challenge 2022! #CNCYXE
Get all your observations uploaded and work on identifying: May 3 – 8 • Results announced: May 9
This is the first year Saskatoon and Area has taken part in the City Nature Challenge Worldwide event. We need your help!
Regina City Nature Challenge 2022 – if you are around Saskatoon document nature here, if you are around Regina and area, document nature there! Maybe more cities in SK will join in next year
It is the end of May 1, the third day of the Saskatoon City Nature Challenge April 29 to May 2. Thanks to everyone who has added observations on iNaturalist! Come out on Monday May 2, and make a difference!
It was an interesting day to follow through on the Insect Workshop. So, when you take a peek into pond water of marshes like the Chappell Marsh at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, there are bugs in the water swimming around! Here is a Pond Life video of the Caddisfly larva which was found! And following up on the Fungi including Lichen Workshop, 60 different observations have taken place for Lichen and shelf fungi are being noted at this time of the year.
And, now just a bit of a word about our Saskatoon and Area Species at Risk which were found so far…By randomly taking pictures across Saskatoon and area, it is fantastic what was discovered!
Goldenrod Gall Fly Eurosta solidaginis
Togwoteeus biceps
Green Ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica
American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Blackbottle Protophormia terraenovae
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
Louisiana Broomrape Aphyllon ludovicianum
Prairie Violet Viola pedatifida
Early Blue Violet Viola palmata
So, now is the time to get involved
Observe April 29-May 2
Countdown has begun!
How many birds, bugs, feathers, lichen, plants, animals, etc can you find?
Are you coming?
Three easy steps
Find it
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Enjoy the outdoors whilst supporting vital conservation research by making observations April 29 to May
City Nature Challenge CNCYXE Saskatoon area versus YQRCNC Regina and area in a mini SK challengeCity Nature Challenge CNCYXE Saskatoon area versus YQRCNC Regina and area in a mini SK challengeiNaturalist Observation with smart phone connecting with nature, supporting vital conservation research worldwide.City Nature Challenge CNCYXE Saskatoon area versus YQRCNC Regina and area in a mini SK challenge
Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!
What is the difference? Well BioSmart shows the addition of both iNaturalist and eBird observations! In two days this is how Saskatoon and area has fared on BioSmart;
598 Observations
419 Identifications
217 Species
38 People
So that is pretty sweet! Hats off to everyone.
The ever beautiful Crocus Pulsatilla nuttalliana has been recorded today as an observation!
There has been an observation of a “Puccinia monoica (Rust Fungus) that infects prairie plants in early spring, usually species of Rock Cress (Boechera/Arabis)” (the description given by Glen Lee)
There are no more white rabbit sightings, only brown White-tailed Jackrabbits *whew*.
Some very beautiful Wintergreens are making a carpet of green which is ever wonderful to see.
If you have never seen a wondrous Spring Avens, well they are in bud now, so that is pretty cool!
But besides saying what is recorded, we should mention what is NOT recorded. There are NO pelican sightings recorded yet! And yet we know they arrived April 21! NO beaver nor muskrat sightings. So now the race is on, to see who can get the first pelican, beaver and muskrat sighting! Can you do it? Check on eBird Saskatoon for end of April usual bird sightings, and then it will be discovered what there may be to look for still 😉
Out of all the potential birds of prey around and about Saskatoon which may be sighted such as hawks, owls, vultures, only two have been registered to date = a Turkey Vulture, and a Merlin.
You know what is a rather unique and interesting happenstance of the City Nature Challenge? iNat user svetlana-bogdanovich out of Ukraine has made the most observations! So in the middle of war-torn Ukraine, svetlana has made 505 observations in 2 days! That is pretty incredible.
User eduardoramirez-anapri from Madrid Spain has made 444 observations in the first 2 days.
Pelican PreeningAmerican Pelican Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, SK, CAPelican PreeningMuskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), wetlands mammal enjoys the emergent vegetation around Chappell Marsh such as cattailsiNaturalist Observation with smart phone connecting with nature, supporting vital conservation research worldwide.
Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!
Help show the world what Saskatoon’s biodiversity looks like – and sounds like—grab your smartphone, the free @inaturalistorg app, & join this year’s #CityNatureChallenge from April 29–May 2! Great for all ages; find details at FriendsAreas.ca #CNCYXE
American Robin., Turdus migratoriusBaby American Robin (Turdus migratorius)Canada Goose Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and West Swale Wetlands, Saskatoon, Sk, CA
Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!
Well the City Nature Challenge has started! We have had some amazing finds so far. A buteo has been spotted, and a thirteen lined ground squirrel midden, the trembling aspen have their beautiful flowers out. If you stir up the dry leaves on the ground, you might see a bug or two, if you are fast with the iNaturalist camera you might catch a photo or two. Don’t forget to photograph pine cones, seeds, and feathers! It is turning into a beautiful day weather wise also. The City Nature Challenge around the world, had quite a few cities begin before us because of the time zone difference.
We will do what we can here and have a lot of fun as Saskatchewan and Saskatoon wakes up. Looking and observing nature is a great thing to do for Earth Month!
Help show the world what Saskatoon’s biodiversity looks like – and sounds like—grab your smartphone, the free @inaturalistorg app, & join this year’s #CityNatureChallenge from April 29–May 2! Great for all ages; find details at FriendsAreas.ca #CNCYXE
Meadowlark
Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!
International Dawn Chorus Day is the first Sunday of May! What an amazing day to listen for our Black-capped Chickadees, Robins, and Meadowlarks, with the Red-winged Blackbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds bringing in the harmony.
The day honours the birthdate of Chris Baines is an English naturalist, one of the UK’s leading independent environmentalists. He is a horticulturalist, landscape architect, naturalist, television presenter and author.
This year the first Sunday of May is May 1, when the City Nature Challenge is taking place! This year besides being Saskatoon’s first year for the City Nature Challenge, it is_ we believe_ to be the first year to record sounds on iNaturalist. Let us see how many song birds can be recorded for International Dawn Chorus Day! What great fun that will be! We will make an announcement at the end of the City Nature Challenge about how many people placed sound recordings during their time outside in nature.
Help show the world what Saskatoon’s biodiversity looks like – and sounds like—grab your smartphone, the free @inaturalistorg app, & join this year’s #CityNatureChallenge from April 29–May 2! Great for all ages; find details at FriendsAreas.ca #CNCYXE
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)Red-Winged Blackbird. West Swale Wetlands Chappell Marsh. Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, SK Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)
Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eye for an instant?”
Henry David Thoreau
What nature and biodiversity is around you today? As science teaches about various plants, and animals, wildlife and nature, awareness increases that Elephants exist in Africa, Kangaroos in Australia, Koala Bears in China. What insects thrive in Saskatoon? What songbirds remain in Saskatoon? Are there any animals that can be seen in Saskatoon? How many did you come up with?
“If our hopes of building a better and safer world are to become more than wishful thinking, we will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever.”
Kofi Annan
Join the #CityNatureChallenge from April 29–May 2! Document Saskatoon’s nature in the free @iNaturalist app by taking photos of wild plants and animals—and help contribute to the world’s largest citizen science event. More at FriendsAreas.ca
Celebrate National Volunteer Week which has a theme ‘Volunteering is Empathy in Action.’
LichenCity Nature Challenge CNCYXE Saskatoon area versus YQRCNC Regina and area in a mini SK challengeGoldenrod Gall Fly Eurosta solidaginis Conservation Status: imperiled (S2S4) in Saskatchewan, CA (NatureServe)Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), species at risk
Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!
In love with Saskatoon and Area’s incredible nature? You can help observe on iNat & protect it by joining this year’s #CityNatureChallenge, April 29–May 2! All you need to join is a smartphone and the free @inaturalist app. Learn more at FriendsAreas.ca Explore back yards, the afforestation areas, along the boulevards of our city streets, in the nooks and crannys of fences and trees. Participating is easy: just make observations of wild plants, animals, and fungi, anywhere in the Saskatoon and Area with the free @inaturalist app April 29 – May 2, and they’ll automatically be added to this project.
The CNC was organized by citizen science staff at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (Lila Higgins) and California Academy of Sciences (Alison Young). The City Nature Challenge has become a global effort for people to find and document plants and wildlife in cities across the globe in support of world conservation efforts. It’s a fun citizen science event with a challenge where cities are in a contest against each other to see who can make the most observations of nature, who can find the most species, and who can engage the most people.
Being involved is super easy!
connect with nature- fungi, insects, Plants and Wildlife
From the CNC FAQ page; Take photos, or sound recordings of “any observations of WILD plants, animals, fungi, seaweed, bacteria, lichen, etc. you find in and around your city! Observations of living or dead organisms, or evidence of those organisms, like shells, seeds, tracks, scat, pinecones, feathers, etc., are fine. Remember to make sure you’re taking good photos of the organisms!”
Take a Picture
Take a picture of what you discover in nature. The iNaturalist app records the GPS location of the critter or plant – and you can set it to obscured or leave it as publicly known. (Don’t change location to private or it won’t be part of the City Nature Challenge)
There is nature all around us, even in our cities! As the urban footprint and the human monoculture keeps expanding, nature is often overlooked in our cities, which has become a safe haven for many wild animals who no longer have a wild habitat. You cannot protect what you don’t know, and all of us – citizen scientists, scientists, land managers, and the community – come together in Twihamwe “working together as one” to find and document the nature in our area. The Saskatchewan Motto strengthens the volunteer spirit of the City Nature Challenge’ Multis e Gentibus Vires (Latin) (“From Many Peoples Strength!”) By participating in the City Nature Challenge, you can learn more about your local nature, and at the same time you can also make your city a better place – for you and nature!
For the COVID-19 pandemic, some modifications were implemented into the City Nature Challenge 2020 and 2021 to help keep both organizers and participants safe. It is way more important to focus on collaboration rather than competition. And we want to know about and embrace the healing power of nature and encourage the sharing of unique stories, species, habitat ranges found during the CNC. Look inside your own homes, in your own yard, in your local bus stop, along your boulevard or local park. Keep safe, follow all health guidelines for COVID, follow all health guidelines for nature as well! This year’s City Nature Challenge is a hybrid between collaboration and competition.
Check back later to see the conversation about your observation!
Qualifications
iNaturalist is an free observation platform that uses both computer recognition vision technology alongside crowd sourced corroboration that acts as a place for people to record biodiversity observations, interact with other enthusiasts, and learn about organisms. Observations from iNaturalist also enrich biodiversity science within open science projects such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). Scientists (and anyone) can freely access and use these data to address their research questions. iNaturalist is as easy to use as 1-2-3!
Find It
Snap It
Share It
This guide, along with YouTube Videos, and planned Virtual events for volunteers who wish to take part will walk you through recommendations for the best ways to use iNaturalist with students in formal or informal settings so they learn from the experience and contribute high-quality observations to the iNaturalist community.
What kinds of observations of nature should I make during the CNC?
Any observations of WILD plants, animals, fungi, seaweed, bacteria, lichen, etc. you find in and around your city! Remember to check under the leaves of your cultivated plants. Observations of living or dead organisms, or evidence of those organisms, like shells, tracks, scat, feathers, etc., are fine. Remember to make sure you’re taking good photos of the organisms!
Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!
City Nature Challenge CNCYXE Saskatoon area versus YQRCNC Regina and area in a mini SK challenge Regina YQRCNC vs Saskatoon CNCYXE SK mini Challenge for the City Nature Challenge City Nature Challenge CNCYXE Saskatoon area versus YQRCNC Regina and area in a mini SK challengeCity Nature Challenge CNCYXE Saskatoon area versus YQRCNC Regina and area in a mini SK challenge
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 