iNaturalist bioblitz on the Mount Vernon Trail

Join Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail on a bioblitz to find and document plants and animals along the Mount Vernon Trail! We'll be using iNaturalist to record our observations and participate in the City Nature Challenge for the Washington DC Metro Area.

A bioblitz is a communal citizen-science effort to record as many species within a designated location and time period as possible. Bioblitzes are great ways to connect to the environment while generating useful data for science and conservation. They are also an excuse for naturalists, scientists, and curious members of the public to meet in person in the great outdoors and are a lot of fun!

The City Nature Challenge is an annual four-day global bioblitz at the end of April, where cities are in a collaboration-meets-friendly-competition to observe nature.

https://citynaturechallengedc.org/

iNaturalist is a mobile app that helps you identify the plants and animals around you while generating data for science and conservation. iNaturalist is a lot of different things, but at its core it is an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature.

This is a kid friendly event!

What to Bring:

• Water
• Comfortable clothes for walking around in the park and standing in the sun
• Long sleeves and long pants (as we might encounter poison ivy)
• Phone (preferably with iNaturalist app installed ahead of time)

If you have never used the iNaturalist app before please review the following

• iNaturalist Getting Started
• Video tutorials

If a participant is under 13, here is information for how to set up an account for a minor.

Where to Meet:

Meet at the overflow parking lot on Daingerfield Island off Marina Drive. Meeting location here. See photo below for more information.

Support our Work:

We're raising funds to continue to improve the Mount Vernon Trail. Donate to keep our volunteers equipped with tools and supplies at Donate to Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail.

Keep up to date with upcoming events and news about the trail by following us on our website, Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.

Photo and Liability Waiver:

By registering to volunteer, you're agreeing to our Photo Release and Liability Waiver.

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Host or Publisher Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail