The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) is taking part in this year’s international City Nature Challenge. County residents will be part of a Washington-metro-area team in the global collaboration built around identifying things in nature.
The challenge begins at 12:01 a.m. local time on April 29 and runs through 11:59 p.m. on May 2. Residents can take part by going outdoors in their neighborhood, backyard or a park, then look to see what’s there and take photos of wild plants, animals and fungi. Upload the photos through a free app provided by iNaturalist.
Identification will take place through crowdsourcing and results will be announced May 9.
For the event, Fairfax County is part of the Washington region that includes the District of Columbia, 14 Northern Virginia counties, five Maryland counties and Jefferson County, W.Va.
Volunteers can sign up on the Park Authority’s Website and log observations in any of FCPA’s 429 parks. Registrants will receive links to virtual trainings and log their volunteer hours through the Park Authority’s system.
For more information about participation in this fun and engaging volunteer opportunity, visit volunteer.fairfaxcounty.gov/custom/1380/opp_details/186725.
The City Nature Challenge is organized by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. More information about the supporting parks can be found on the Park Authority’ Website at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks. Further information about the challenge is on the City Nature Challenge’s Website at citynaturechallengedc.org.