Enhancing Our Eco-Efforts in Van Cortlandt Park - Join Us!
Dear Community Members,
This is our inaugural iNaturalist journal post, and we're excited to connect with each of you here! We greatly appreciate the wealth of observations gathered in Van Cortlandt Park. Your contributions are invaluable, and we're exploring ways to further leverage this data and our observer community.
As we step into December, we have three key objectives to enhance our ecological understanding and stewardship of the park:
Focus on Multiflora Rose Observations: Winter presents an ideal opportunity to identify and plan for the removal of the invasive Multiflora rose. With its leaves shed, this species becomes more visible. Our current tally stands at 190 observations, but we believe many more exist. Can we double this count? We're particularly interested in the North West Forest and Woodlawn areas. If you encounter large clusters, please note these in your observations to aid in organizing volunteer removal efforts.
Boost Bird Observations for the Christmas Bird Count: Our bird observation count is nearing a milestone of 2000, with 132 species documented so far. As a critical bird habitat with historical significance, Van Cortlandt Park's avian diversity is vast yet challenging to capture. Let's aim to surpass 2000 bird observations by year's end. Whether you're a seasoned birder or a novice, every sighting counts!
Expand Our Observer Network: Inviting friends and acquaintances, especially those with a knack for birdwatching or a telephoto lens, can significantly enrich our project. Our current count of 39,054 observations and 798 observers is impressive, but imagine the impact of reaching 40,000 observations with over 1,000 observers! Let's work together to achieve these goals.
We encourage you to share your ideas and suggestions in the comments section on how we can further activate and utilize this platform. Your insights are vital to our collective effort in understanding and preserving the natural beauty of Van Cortlandt Park.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone for your dedication and enthusiasm in exploring and documenting our natural world. Your contributions are making a real difference!
Warm regards,
Noel Hefele