Dear Biodiversity Day Challenge Participants and California Biodiversity Enthusiasts,

Thank you for participating in California Biodiversity Week, 2024!

Between Sept 7 - 15, 2024, thousands of people in California celebrated California’s incredible biodiversity. Over 200 virtual and in-person events were planned - more than ever before - celebrating biodiversity through nature walks, hikes, gardening, restoration, art, storytelling, games, fishing, and participatory science activities such as birding and bioblitzing. See: bit.ly/CaliforniaBiodiversityDay .

This year marks the third year of California Biodiversity Day’s “Find 30 Species Challenge”, a challenge to observe at least 30 species from anywhere in California and report it on iNaturalist. This challenge encourages discovery of the amazing biodiversity of California while bringing awareness to the state’s biodiversity conservation initiative: California 30x30.

Challenge Results

In 2024, 482 PEOPLE submitted 21,854 OBSERVATIONS of 3,355 SPECIES in California! Over 1,300 people have been busy identifying these observations so they become “research grade” quality and can be applied to the science and conservation of California’s biodiversity. Please check out our infographic at the bottom of this post highlighting fun and interesting finds from around the state during biodiversity week.

ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX people successfully found at least 30 species as part of this challenge!!! AMAZING! Thirty of you discovered at least 100 species during this challenge, including some of California’s endemic and rare species, way to go!! A special shout out to these 30 champions: @grnleaf (Our top winner for 3 years in a row with 354 species observed!) followed by:@eleggua @ericcameron @schaeferross82 @biohexx1 @samawinter @wildave @merav @gooniebird @thekrysten @patp1 @emmashelton @leslie_flint @donnadugan @dlbowls @jilllingnell @klyle161 @tukule @srghauck @antrozousamelia @wildmare64 @petroicatraversi @staffordcorey @gallandoaks @rmoger @markkjames @lgottlieb @thefruithunter @elizabeth_lockhart @carrotpeople.

Thank you for helping make community-collected data a central part of the California Biodiversity Day events and for contributing to conservation for 30x30 and beyond. We hope you all will continue to be a part of our collective success!

From,
The Biodiversity Day Planning Team

The Biodiversity Day Planning Team includes representatives from California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Parks, CA Natural Resources Agency, Ocean Protection Council, California Academy of Sciences, California Native Plant Society, and the UC Environmental Stewards and Naturalists

Posted on 01 de outubro de 2024, 09:29 PM by dena-s