COQUITLAM, B.C., April 12, 2023 – The cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody are hosting guided walks, hatchery visits, children’s activities and more for their second year of participation in the City Nature Challenge.
The celebration features 15 events primarily from April 28 to May 1 when residents can document plants, animals and other organisms on the iNaturalist app.
A Tri-City Collaboration
The City Nature Challenge is a friendly global competition that encourages people to find and document wildlife in their cities. The three cities will compete with communities across Canada and around the world to gather the most observations about nature, find the most species and engage the most people from April 28 to May 1 through iNaturalist. All Tri-City residents are encouraged to participate and help contribute even more observations than we did in 2022:
- 129 people, across 3 municipalities, provided a total of 2,790 observations
- 2nd highest observer total in participating BC municipalities
- 3rd highest number of observations in participating BC municipalities
Tri-City Nature Challenge Events
All events are free and open to Tri-City residents, but some activities require pre-registration. Signing up for the iNaturalist app is not required to participate in the events but is required to share your observations and take part in the competition.
Event details can be found at www.coquitlam.ca/naturechallenge, www.portcoquitlam.ca/naturechallenge and www.portmoody.ca/naturechallenge.
Using iNaturalist
An initiative of the National Geographic Society and the California Academy of Sciences, iNaturalist is a network of amateur and professional naturalists who map and share observations about biodiversity around the globe.
To have your observations counted for the Tri-Cities in this year’s City Nature Challenge:
- Go to www.inaturalist.org or download the free iNaturalist app from the App Store or Google Play and create an account.
- From April 28 to May 1, head out in to nature to find wildlife in the Tri-Cities, including plants, animal, birds, fungi, etc. – or evidence of them, such as shells, feathers or scat
- How to record your observations: Hit Observe on the app or Add Observations on the website to add or upload your photos, audio recordings or descriptions. Photos should be clear and full-frame.
Visit the City Nature Challenge FAQ webpage at www.citynaturechallenge.org/faq for detailed instructions and tips for making eligible observations.
Observe and Protect our Wildlife
- Be safe and give animals their space – sometimes a memory is better than a picture, give bears, cougars and coyotes at least 100 metres of space and leave the area quickly and calmly.
- Walk on designated trails and stay on the trail to protect wildlife habitat.
- Do not touch or pick up live animals or plants. Use your eyes and ears, and your phone, to make observations of species in their natural habitat.
- Leave No Trace: take care to leave no litter and not to damage the habitats you are enjoying. Even fruit peels and cores can cause damage to sensitive places or put animals at risk.
About the City Nature Challenge
Canadians coast to coast will compete against a record number of 460 cities from 43 countries in the 2023 City Nature Challenge, a massive effort to track and showcase global biodiversity. Forty-two cities represent Canada with the results scheduled to be announced after May 8.
In Canada in 2022, 76,984 observations were made of 4,551 species. Greater Victoria earned top honours with 7,847 observations and the highest participants per capita. Globally, almost 1.7 million observations were made and more than 56,000 species were identified including more than 1,300 rare, endangered, or threatened species.
Media contacts:
Caresse Selk
Manager, Environment
City of Coquitlam
604-927-3500
cselk@coquitlam.ca
Ximena Ibacache
Manager, Communications and Administrative Services
City of Port Coquitlam
604-927-5499
ibacachex@portcoquitlam.ca
Natasha Vander Wal
Communications Specialist
City of Port Moody
604-469-4587
nvanderwal@portmoody.ca
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-kwuh-tlum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie), and other Coast Salish Peoples.