Diario de surrey-bc_biodiversity

I've just uploaded all my CNC observations and will be working the remaining time up until 9am May 5 to help with ID. We're creeping up to a 1000 observations for this year, so keep them coming if you still have observations to share :).

Please do help with the IDs, especially the fungi and audio recordings. Some families and genera can be tricky to tell apart (I am still getting stuck on Trametes versus Sterneum fungi). Fortunately iNaturalist is a welcoming learning environment filled with incredibly knowledgeable folks. So feel comfortable to tag curators and specialists and ask for help, and appreciate unsolicited help from others.

And as always, remember the recognition software in iNaturalist is a tool, but it's not perfect. Species like flies, worms and many invertebrates and fungi) can be especially hard to get down to family or genus, never mind species. Before going with something exotic that iNaturalist recommends, check the range map and think about the likelihood of it being that super rare organism with the closest occurrence in California or Florida, or Italy, versus a more common species that looks similar but isn't quite so exciting.

Looking forward to see what cool finds are waiting to hit research grade!

A shout out to everyone taking the time to upload observations and especially all you dedicated folks helping with the IDs!

By the way, if you're checking in on the Metro Vancouver Regional project and how we're doing nationally, Metro is neck and neck with Montreal (12,884 to 12,900 respectively)! And we're well ahead of Calgary Metro Region and the GTA.
https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-canada-2024-defi-nature-urbaine

Be proud of your/Surrey's contribution. Especially considering the weather we had this past weekend.

The wet coast rules!

We're getting down to the wire, just edging over 900 observations which is pretty awesome considering we have ~20 less observers than last year and a lot crappier weather this time around. And the ID's are still going strong which is great as having robust data is our real end goal for community science in Surrey.

For those tracking how we're doing regionally and nationally, Metro Vancouver is now leading across Canada, edging out Montreal by a mere 54 observations. Talk about east against west!

But there are still many hours to go, so we won't really know if the 'wet' coast came out on top nationally (for the first time ever) until cutoff tomorrow at 8:59 am.

So enjoy what's left of your Sunday night and stay tuned for the big reveal tomorrow from California.

It's been a frenetic week. We're getting down to the wire, just edging over 900 observations which is pretty awesome considering we have ~20 less observers than last year and a lot crappier weather this time around. And the ID's are still going strong which is great as having robust data is our real end goal for community science in Surrey.

For those tracking how we're doing regionally and nationally, Metro Vancouver is now leading across Canada, edging out Montreal by a mere 54 observations. Talk about east against west!

But there are still many hours to go, so we won't really know if the 'wet' coast came out on top nationally (for the first time ever) until cutoff tomorrow at 8:59 am.

So enjoy what's left of your Sunday night and stay tuned for the big reveal tomorrow from California.

A shout-out to everyone who contributed this year. Some phenomenal observations and image captures that helped Surrey contribute to making Metro Vancouver the national lead at over 14,000 observation, beating Montreal by just over 20!

Metro Vancouver also ranked 33rd in North and South America as part of the international results.

I hope you'll continue to contribute throughout the year. the observations you make are integral to helping the City of Surrey in monitoring local biodiversity. As growth pressures increase and further pressure is put on the City's natural assets, community science efforts are a critical facet in well-informed land use planning.

Simply put, your data counts.

Looking forward to seeing the regulars and new iNaturalist enthusiasts join in again in 2025!

Sincerely,

Pamela Zevit RPBio
Biodiversity Conservation Planner
City of Surrey

A shout-out to everyone who contributed this year. Some phenomenal observations and image captures that helped Surrey contribute to making Metro Vancouver the national lead at over 14,000 observation, beating Montreal by just over 20!

Metro Vancouver also ranked 33rd in North and South America as part of the international results.

I hope you'll continue to contribute throughout the year. the observations you make are integral to helping the City of Surrey in monitoring local biodiversity. As growth pressures increase and further pressure is put on the City's natural assets, community science efforts are a critical facet in well-informed land use planning.

Simply put, your data counts.

Looking forward to seeing the regulars and new iNaturalist enthusiasts join in again in 2025!

Sincerely,

Pamela Zevit RPBio
Biodiversity Conservation Planner
City of Surrey

Community science project on ground nesting bees.
And check out those pollen pants!
“Help locate and map ground nesting bee sites to support conservation efforts with iNaturalist . Researchers at Cornell are seeking your help to better understand and protect the nests of solitary, gentle, ground-nesting bees. Even though 90% of bees are solitary and 70% of bees nest in the ground, knowledge about solitary ground-nesting bees is lacking. This project will study how factors like soil characteristics affect these bee populations, which will help us learn how to protect and improve nesting habitat for bees that provide crucial pollination services. By promoting nesting sites for native bees, we can enhance ecosystem and agricultural sustainability and resilience."

https://www.gnbee.org/
Project link to join: https://inaturalist.ca/projects/ground-nesting-bees-3e6882c0-a112-4ddb-b043-1da25638ce96