This year the City of Kansas City, Missouri is once again Partnering with the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium and Heartland Conservation Alliance to participate in an international bio-blitz called The City Nature Challenge. Many organizations have previously participated as a community partner and we are looking for partners for the 2024 challenge.
This year, the event will run from April 26 – 29, 2024. As a reminder, the goal is to use citizen science and the iNaturalist platform to collect data on plants and animals that can be found in the Kansas City region. Meeting this goal has the added benefit of getting people out in nature and drawing attention to local trails and natural areas. We are promoting the City Nature Challenge as a region-wide collaboration and we would love to have your organization on board as part of our team. The main function of community partners is to promote the challenge through your social media and volunteer platforms. You can even pair the event with your own event for additional impact. Participation is free to any citizen, as is the iNaturalist app for your phone.
We will be hosting a community partner meeting in early February to answer any questions you may have and share the materials we’ve created for the event. If you are interested in being involved, please email Stephanie Dresen, Natural Systems Coordinator Office of Environmental Quality, City of Kansas City, MO [email protected]. You will be included in that event invite.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me, or our other organizers, Georgia Eckett with the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium and Jalen Holloway with the Heartland Conservation Alliance (both CC’d on this email).
Thank you so much for your consideration and we hope to have you on our team for the 2024 City Nature Challenge!
