What's living in the city?
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It's Alive!
There’s life all around us, even in the city! At the end of April, thousands of people participated in the City Nature Challenge, which asked people to identify species living in their city. There are great resources available for finding and identifying plant and animal species in and around your home.
If you want to be able to identify species that you see, you can use the iNaturalist app. With this app, you can take a photo and get suggested species IDs. Scientists can also help verify your observation. With the help of an adult, you can make an iNaturalist account and learn more on the iNaturalist website.
Right now, you’re probably staying close to home, but you can still observe nature! Here are some possible ways to spot species:
- Look for insects in and around your home. Check under stones and boards outside and look around trees wells on the sidewalks.
- Look at the grasses growing in your neighborhood - even between cracks in the sidewalk. Are they all the same? Are there any small plants you haven’t noticed before?
- Look up at the sky! Who’s flying by? It may be hard to get a good picture of a bird, but people often identify birds by their songs. Make an audio recording of the birds around you.
