Warming up for the City Nature Challenge 2023 with UC Davis Wildlife Society Bioblitz

Just shy of 20 intrepid UC Davis students braved the cold for a morning Bioblitz at the UC Davis Arboretum in February. The purpose of this event was to introduce iNaturalist, practice making observations, and explore the nature in the Arboretum together. It was organized for The Wildlife Society club at UC Davis, with Laci Gerhart and Sarah Angulo facilitating. 

The Bioblitz was organized as part of the club’s ongoing series of on-campus events aimed at piquing members’ interest in wildlife and providing opportunities for professional development.

It exposed students to the citizen science app, iNaturalist. Users upload photos and sound of organisms in nature, and the identification is assisted by AI and confirmed by other iNaturalist users. Once the identification is confirmed, the observation becomes useable for researchers and scientists.

This event allowed students to practice their observation skills, and interact with each other to find and identify different organisms in the Arboretum. With the City Nature Challenge 2023 just around the corner, the Bioblitz prepared students to participate April 28-May 1. 

Highlights were definitely the wood ducks and a millipede. With the cool, cloudy, post-rain conditions, it will be interesting to compare the day’s findings during the City Nature Challenge window. To see scheduled events during the City Nature Challenge, head to the Sacramento Region website, or participate on your own anywhere within the Sacramento Region.