CNC: NYC - Day 2 - More to do from home!

It's Day 2, everyone, and the weather is much nicer. Please be aware of your surroundings if you do choose to go outside and follow NYC guidelines to stay safe (avoid using public transportation, wear a mask, keep at least 6 ft. of distance between you and others, etc.). Click here for more info .

I have two more things you can do from inside your home!

1) Look for observations to split: @srall gave me this idea when I saw her comments on some observations - you can ID the other species in the observations and encourage the users who made them to split them into multiple observations for the different species.

2) April 29 Zoom Virtual ID Party: The other thing you can do is sign up for our Virtual ID Party on April 29. Details at the Eventbrite listing .

I'm copying the Stay-at-Home Scavenger Hunt post here so you can see our list of suggestions for at-home observations.

Copied from the previous post - Below we have a Scavenger Hunt for all the things you can try to find from home. Let's appreciate the nature we can see and hear from our windows while we stay safely inside and physically distant from other people. Remember that all the cities are working together this year towards one global result and that no single city is going to be declared the winner. There is no need to drive up our observation numbers through the roof!

Stay-at-Home Scavenger Hunt

Then, look out your window and find some of these:
-- a bird flyover
-- an animal noise to record (bird calls, squirrels, raccoons)
-- a street tree
-- an animal in a street tree
-- a visitor to a nearby fire escape or roof
-- something growing or living on your window sill
-- an insect that visits your window at night (leave your light on and see what lands on your closed window)
-- a visitor that comes to retrieve a nut or seeds that you leave outside on your window ledge (It should go without saying, but please don't allow wildlife inside)

Thanks to @srall, @javiehweg, and @aberkov for helping to brainstorm this list! If anyone has more suggestions, leave them in the comments here and I'll edit this post! Thanks!

Any observations you make need to happen between April 24-27. If you are concerned about geoprivacy with all of your observations happening where you live, remember that you can change your observation geoprivacy settings from "open" to "obscured" so that the observation appears in a box that covers a large area rather than as one pinpointed to your address.

There is one other way you can participate in the City Nature Challenge from the safety of your home - help us identify observations! Between April 27 and May 4 at 9am, the whole iNaturalist community is working hard to help add and confirm IDs to get the species numbers up for the Challenge. We'll be having a Virtual ID Party via Zoom on April 29 at 5pm. Please sign up at this Eventbrite RSVP link .

We know there are still people going out into our parks and we ask you to please be aware of NYC guidelines banning gatherings of any size and requiring social distancing of at least 6 ft from others. You should also wear some form of face covering if you go out (more info from the Department of Health here). The Department of Health also recommends the following if you are trying to manage your stress by going outside: "If you are not sick, go outside and get exercise, but remember to practice good hygiene and physical distancing. Walking, running, and bicycling are good examples of activities that do not require close contact with others or shared equipment." Source: April 4, 2020 Coronavirus Factsheet. If you do go outside and want to make an iNaturalist observation, please just take the photo and do the rest of the uploading at home. This way you won't be as distracted by entering information into the app and can remain aware of your surroundings and any people that might be approaching. Please stay safe out there.

Publicado el 25 de abril de 2020 por klodonnell