City Nature Challenge 2021: The Maritimes Umbrella Project's Journal

There are many Maritimers who live in areas outside the official CNC areas. Hopefully these Maritimers will still be keen and willing to participate. The first priority, though, is to stay safe and observe all local travel restrictions.

For many Maritimers, if travel is an option, it is likely that there will be a CNC area just down the road from your backyard. The CNC may present an opportunity to get out and explore areas not normally visited.

For those who are unable to get out and help collect observations the CNC event does need identifiers! If uncomfortable with assigning species names perhaps browse thru unnamed observations and add coarse names such as 'birds', 'insects', or 'plants'. Help review observations and flag any cultivated plants or captive animals. Every little bit helps.

Another option is to offer to help mentor others - example keep an eye on what is being posted and point out either areas or species that have been overlooked. Maybe no one is posting spruce trees, or earthworms, indoor spiders. Or maybe no one has gone to the beach - this is a great opportunity to post photos of living critters (barnacles, periwinkles), seaweed, and seashells.

Here is a link to observations from the 3 NS areas for the month of April (from all years) - you can see that there are lots of gaps in the geographic coverage.

Browse thru the list of species on the main tab. See ones that are common in your area? There are 777 observations but only 51 evening primrose and cattails? Lots of colts-foot, robins, and squirrels. Not many photos of green crabs or wild rose.

Here is a similar link for NB
Here is a similar link for PEI

Now is a great time to explore not just what you personally have uploaded in the past but what others have uploaded as well.

How many species do you think you will be able to find this year? Start planning now!

I recently posted a link to an article published in the Chronicle Herald (January 2019) titled ‘THE ENDANGERED PERSPECTIVE: Can you name 150?’. This article written by Zack Metcalfe (zack.metcalfe@gmail.com) opens with the following sentence ‘Your average North American can recognize 150 corporate logos without practice or effort, a statistic made especially sad when you consider this same person can’t name most of the trees or birds or insects which make up their world’.

Zack's article is very interesting, and I recommend that people (re-)read it in its entirety.

I am bringing this article to light once again with the hope that it will spark a desire in others to set a goal for themselves for this coming year. As COVID and travel restrictions are likely to be part of our lives for the near future this is a great opportunity to get outdoors and explore areas close to home. Perhaps setting a goal to try and find a specific number of birds or trees or wildflowers or seashells would be a great ‘Bubble’ activity.

In order for the quest to be successful a bit of planning is required. Now is a great time to EXPLORE existing content in iNat for your favourite area and identify places to visit. What species do you recognize and know are common in your area? iNaturalist is a great way to learn their names.

Perhaps a related goal could be to share 50 observations per day during the City Nature Challenge… Is this number too high? Should it be higher? Could a target such as this be achievable with a little planning? Would a list of common species to start with be helpful?

Maybe the CNC could be treated as a scavenger hunt to find the following species – this quest might require visiting a number of different locations/habitats or maybe you will find many in your backyard.

Keep your eyes open for:

• Dandelion, coltsfoot, daisy, buttercup, clover, strawberry
• Blue flag iris, cranberry, mayflower, bunchberry
• Ferns, moss, pitcher plants, lichen
• Pine, spruce, tamarack, hemlock, maple, birch, oak, beech, ash, aspen, alders
• Apple trees and pussy willows
• Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam
• Irish moss, rockweed, kelp, eelgrass
• Mussels, razor clams, clams, scallops, periwinkles, moon shells, whelks
• Crabs, lobsters
• Centipedes, millipedes, slugs, earthworms, night crawlers
• Mayflies, mosquitoes, bees, spiders
• Ticks
• Spring peepers and salamanders
• Squirrels, mice, rabbits, beaver, porcupines, deer
• Raccoons
• Mallards, robins, blue jays, starlings, pigeons
• Eagle, osprey, sandpiper, seagull
• Canada geese
• And of course fish!

Winter is a great time to dream and to plan for the spring. Why not set a few goals? Start today.