2023 Tallahassee Florida Region City Nature Challenge's Journal

Our participation grows, slowly! We're up to 35 today. Anyone have ideas about marketing / advertising to ge the word out? I've posted in various Facebook groups. And have been messaging iNat users, one by one... 700 or more by now... I planning a T%allahassee Democrat article soon to get the word out that way, and maybe I can get that article into various other local papers in Thomasville, Valdosta, Panama City and so on, if they exist any longer. I've got some folks who were involved in the 2019 CNC, who may help me get a spot on NPR radio. If anyone has an idea, please share here!
TIA, Ingolf

Dear City Nature Challenge Organizers,

It is with a heavy heart that we share some sad news about an amazing City Nature Challenge participant, Gwyn Balman. Gwyn lost her life last month in a tragic car accident that also took the life of her brother and severely injured her mother.

Gwyn, @wolfinthefog, was a 16-year-old naturalist living in Arizona, USA. She loved using iNaturalist and her favorite project to take part in was the City Nature Challenge. She was so dedicated to these efforts and her career goal was to get a job with Arizona Game and Fish as a biologist.

In last year's City Nature Challenge, Gwyn made 5,124 observations, logging in the second most number of observations of any participant anywhere. Here is a photo of Gwyn, with her mother Kathy Balman who was one of the City Nature Challenge organizers for the Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona.

Here is the link to the Go Fund Me effort if you have the ability to help the family with their funeral and ongoing hospital costs: https://gofund.me/f42c0c5c

Warmly,

City Nature Challenge Global Organizing Team (Lila, Alison, Sam & Amy)

Hi folks! The iNaturalist team at the LA County Museum and Calif. Academy of Sciences are winding down their end of organizing the 2023 CNC. They reported: "this year we’re also adding 14 cities across the US! You can see the full list of cities here: http://www.calacademy.org/citizen-science/city-nature-challenge. We expect the competition to be fierce with so many cities joining in this year!"

I was told by Peter Kleinhenz that his 2019 CNC results placed 1st, for population centers of this size (population), so let's do it iagain. WE NEED MORE PARTICIPANTS, please help spread the word! Ask your iNatter friends to find this "Project" in iNaturalist, and "JOIN".

Hello all, I'm finding it super cumbersome to work my way into FaceBook groups that I;m not already joined to, to promote this bioblitz. I have to join the groups, request permission to post... will take me forever. May I ask you all to see if you can post the follwing in groups you already joined? Feedback, please... Ask the admins first, so you don't get kicked out!
Edit if you wish...
Hello, you may be familiar with the identification app, iNaturalist? Data posted by citizen science from total amateurs to professionals are now being used in real scientific research and publications. iNaturalist conducts an annual bioblitz, called the Community Nature Challenge: https://citynaturechallenge.org/. Facebook groups are for me a great forum to promote this event via groups about animals, plants, mushrooms etc. My FaceBook group for this project is “iNaturalist Bioblitz & City Nature Challenge, NW Florida & SW Georgia”, as a method for mass communication about the Challenge. Make a Join Request (answer a few questions), to follow along and engage in conversation!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1031577234909296
The next one is April 28-May 1, 2023. I am the Organizer for the Tallahassee Region 2023 NW Florida & SW Georgia CNC, and have a large challenge to entice people to join in this now-enormous world-wide citizen science effort. In iNaturalist, people can join the “Project” here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/tallahassee-florida-region-2023-city-nature-challenge