City Nature Challenge 2020: Houston-Galveston's Journal

April 9, 2020

Free Virtual Lecture: Saving Houston's Biodiversity with Your Smartphone

Join the Houston Museum of Natural Science and TNC biologist Jaime González on a (virtual!) journey of discovery as we explore Houston's rich biodiversity. You'll also learn how you can participate as a citizen scientist in the 2020 City Nature Challenge, a competition to observe and record biodiversity in over 150 cities across the world! We'll show you the newest generation of nature-oriented smartphone apps, including the iNaturalist app used for the City Nature Challenge.

Come celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, kick off the City Nature Challenge for Houston, and join the ranks of conservationists working to save the Bayou City's rich wildlife!

This event is free of charge; register via Zoom at https://tnc.zoom.us/meeting/register/v5Ekc-ytqDMt98Opvq4XEKPhJ8SbB5yggQ

Posted on April 9, 2020 03:00 PM by habitat_jaime habitat_jaime | 0 comments | Leave a comment

April 4, 2020

Free, Virtual iNaturalist Trainings on April 11th and April 15th

Take a Deep Dive iNaturalist Training
April 11, 2020 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm CST
Host: Texas Nature Trackers
Instructor: Dr. Tania Homayoun, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

WebEx meeting invitation: iNaturalist Training Workshop
Saturday, April 11, 2020
9:30 am-12:30pm | (UTC-05:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
If you have not used WebEx before, please start the login process at least 10 minutes before the workshop to allow time for installing the WebEx desktop app on your computer.
In order to keep streaming as smooth as possible, we recommend that, whenever possible, participants join the meeting to see the slides on screen but access the audio via their phones rather than through the computer.
Join meeting: https://tpwd.webex.com/tpwd/j.php?MTID=mc40efdc81200c2ebce3c1b41cf9135c3
Meeting number (enter access code): 802 489 870
Meeting password: RpNuYFu6h35

Join by phone for audio: +1-415-655-0001 US TOLL
Join from a video system or application
Dial 802489870@tpwd.webex.com

Join using Microsoft Lync or Microsoft Skype for Business
Dial 802489870.tpwd@lync.webex.com


Take an iNaturalist Basics Training
April 15, 2020 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm CST
Host: The Nature Conservancy in Texas (TNC) and Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS)
Instructor: Jaime González, The Nature Conservancy in Texas
Description: Join TNC biologist Jaime González will provide tips and tricks for using the iNaturalist app to observe and document flora and fauna in your local region. This will be a live Zoom event streamed directly from Jaime’s native-landscaped yard in Houston, TX. He'll also provide a brief introduction to the 2020 City Nature Challenge and how citizen science data collected through iNaturalist is transforming the way we look at ecosystem management.

Register for this training online:
https://tnc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u50kce-hrjgsXdVwpJ631wEojV25I-JY4g

Posted on April 4, 2020 02:38 PM by habitat_jaime habitat_jaime | 0 comments | Leave a comment

March 27, 2020

Join Our River or Coastal Teams

RIVER TEAM
If you can safety (observing Social Distancing) make observations on local rivers, we'd love to have you on our new Rivers Team. Those interested should contact Bruce Bodson of the Lower Brazos River Watch at bruce.bodson@lowerbrazosriverwatch.org. For general questions about the Houston-Galveston City Nature Challenge Team please contact Jaime González at jaime.gonzalez@tnc.org.

COAST TEAM
Our coast are teeming with life! Our Coastal Team will help you safely (practicing social distancing) observe and record coastal species. What to know more? Contact Anna Vallery at avallery@houstonaudubon.org.

Team Leaders
-Elizabeth Winston-Jones, Texas Lonestar Coastal Alliance, Elizabeth Winston Jones, e.winstonjones@gmail.com
-Sasha Francis, Galveston Bay Foundation, sfrancis@galvbay.org
-Anna Vallery, Houston Audubon, avallery@houstonaudubon.org

Posted on March 27, 2020 07:40 PM by habitat_jaime habitat_jaime | 0 comments | Leave a comment

March 24, 2020

Convert eBird to iNaturalist Observations - Instructions (Courtesy of Houston Audubon, Anna Vallery)

Do you love eBird or know an avid eBirder? Make their citizen science efforts count TWICE by uploading eBird checklists into iNaturalist during the 2020 City Nature Challenge period (April 24-27, 2020). Without photos or audio recordings, uploaded eBird checklists won’t be verifiable or become research grade, but they will still count towards our city’s overall City Nature Challenge total.

  1. Log into eBird and head over to your eBird Checklists
  2. Select the “View or Edit” option for the appropriate checklist
  3. Click “Checklist Tools” at the upper, right-hand corner of the page and select “Download” from the dropdown box
  4. Open the CSV files to your computer using Excel or a similar program
  5. Edit that CSV file to match the format specified by iNaturalist at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/import#csv_import (this needs to be followed exactly or the upload will not work)
  6. Once your file is appropriately formatted, upload it into iNaturalist by selecting the blue “upload” button on the same page
    If you have questions, please email Anna Vallery, Houston Audubon representative for the Houston-Galveston coastal team, at avallery@houstonaudubon.org

Posted on March 24, 2020 06:57 PM by habitat_jaime habitat_jaime | 1 comment | Leave a comment

March 11, 2020

Find local City Nature Challenge events!

Hi City Nature Challengers!
Curious about what's going on in your area? Texas Parks & Wildlife is tracking local events including trainings, bioblitz events, and ID parties. You can see those directly here or link to them via our TPWD City Nature Challenge main page (www.tpwd.texas.gov/naturechallenge) under “Find local partners and events on the City Nature Challenge Texas Events list”

Posted on March 11, 2020 04:54 PM by taniahomayoun taniahomayoun | 0 comments | Leave a comment

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