Engaging social media with the city nature challenge and iNaturalist!

Hey all!

Hope you are all doing well and that you/your families are stay healthy and safe during this unprecedented time. I wanted to ask a huge favor of you, as I know you are some most enthusiastic iNat users out there.

Since this year’s City Nature Challenge is no longer a challenge, our efforts have focused to engage users with their immediate surroundings: outside their front doors, in their yard, or anywhere nature is found which they can safely and responsibly explore while complying with social distancing and stay-at-home orders where they live. It’s also a great opportunity for us to fill some data gaps!

That is why we need YOUR help! The TPWD Conservation Outreach Team is asking for me to reach out to some of our most engaged iNaturalist users in TX and ask them to share their City Nature Challenge experience.

Here are a few asks during and/or leading up to the City Nature Challenge (April 24-27):

• Post a photo/video on Facebook, Instagram, and/or FB/IG stories

• This post should be about how you are engaging with nature close to home during this CNC. You can answer some of the following questions:
  o What are some of your favorite things to observe in your neighborhood?
  o What are some species you never would have thought you’d find there?
  o Where are some of your favorite local places to go? Why?
  o Why do you think neighborhood nature is relevant for all community members?
  o How has neighborhood/backyard nature helped you or your family deal with COVID?

• Use hashtag #yardchallenge; you can also use hashtags #CityNatureChallenge and/or #CNC2020

• Tag the Texas Nature Trackers Program in your post:
  o Facebook/Instagram handle: @texasnaturetrackers

• Tag 3-5 other friends and challenge them to post about their neighborhood nature/CNC experience!
• Feel free to post once, or more than once!

We hope this engagement campaign will encourage others across the state and globe to get out and find what’s been hiding right under their nose all along!

Most importantly, we are stressing that all participants strictly adhere to federal, state, and local public health guidelines as they are updated in real time in response to COVID-19. Please do what you can to make sure you adhere to these guidelines during the event.

Let me know if you’re interested in helping out with this. Can’t wait to see what we all find this year!

Posted on Απρίλιος 22, 2020 0753 ΜΜ by sambiology