iNaturalist, an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature, puts on the City Nature Challenge each year worldwide, an event to encourage citizen science in our own communities. Participants go out into their local parks, rivers, and backyards and observe as many species as they can by taking photos and uploading them to iNaturalist.

In Ada County, we will be participating on a massive scale. The Boise Parks and Rec and I have brought together a large team of collaborators from a variety of local organizations, including but not limited to (we are still working on adding more interested organizations):

City of Boise Parks and Recreation Department,
The WaterShed Climate + Water Center,
City of Trees Master Naturalists,
Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS),
Ada County Soil and Water Conservation District,
Ada County Parks and Waterways,
Boise School District,
Outdoor Learning Alliance,
Idaho Fish and Game,
Idaho Botanical Garden,
Golden Eagle Audubon Society,
Project Learning Tree

This year's City Nature Challenge is being held from April 24th-27th, and these organizations will be putting on guided nature walks, bioblitzes, school field trips, and other events for our community to come together and celebrate Idaho's biodiversity together. Invites for these specific events will be publicized later this month.