Office of Sustainability

Name: WPB Backyard Bioblitz!
Start: 2021-02-23T23:30+00:00
End: 2021-02-24T00:30+00:00

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Rethink Paradise: Today. Tomorrow. Together.

Office of Sustainability hours remain the same (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday). In order for us to best assist you, please give us a call (561-804-4994) or send an email (Sustainability@wpb.org) before coming into the office.

Mission: Enhance the viability of West Palm Beach as a model of a healthy, equitable, environmentally progressive, resilient, and ecologically sustainable community.

The City of West Palm Beach has been committed to sustainability targeting climate change for over a decade. We were one of the first cities in the State of Florida to have a dedicated office addressing climate change, sustainability and resiliency issues. The Office of Sustainability collaborates with various city agencies, nonprofit organizations, businesses and private citizens, among other partners, to enhance the viability of the municipality as a model of healthy, equitable, environmentally progressive, resilient and ecologically sustainable, urban living. We are committed to continue to evolve to meet our City’s / region’s environmental challenges focused on exceeding our community’s expectations.

Fast Facts

WPB Backyard Bioblitz!

Date: 02/23/2021 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM 02/23/2021 6:30 PM 02/23/2021 7:30 PM
Introduction: Join us on Zoom!

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The WPB Backyard Bioblitz will be conducted virtually December 22, 2020 – February 22, 2021 with a live virtual Backyard Bioblitz program on February 23, 2021. To participate, all you need is a smartphone, tablet, or a camera and computer.

Although we can’t come together to explore, identify and collect data in person, the Office of Sustainability is here to help guide you on a community science adventure. Whether you choose to explore your own backyard, a school yard, or a local nature trail, you can learn about the amazing plants and animals that live there and help collect important data to track biodiversity in our region. No matter where you choose to explore, be sure to keep yourself, our community and our natural world healthy and follow the 7 Leave No Trace principles (https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/).

Submit your observations of any native, non-native, and wild organism (sorry, no friends or pets) living in the Palm Beach County area. The goal is to count as many species as possible (plants, animals, microbes, fungi, and other organisms)!

To participate all you have to do is:
1. create an account on iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/home),
2. join the WPB Backyard Bioblitz project (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wpb-backyard-bioblitz),
3. and find some local biodiversity to document!

If you are using a smart phone or tablet download the free app on Google Play or in the Apple Store. New to iNaturalist? Watch this 1.5 minute video on how to make an observation on iNaturalist (https://vimeo.com/162581545).

***We are hosting a live virtual Backyard Bioblitz program on February 23, 2021 6:30pm-7:30pm to review your observations and announce the Bioblitz Champs! Zoom access information is below***

Use the hashtags #WPBBioblitz to share your finds on social media! Bioblitz Champs will win FREE eco-swag from the City of West Palm Beach Office of Sustainability.

What is a Bioblitz?

Community science (also called citizen science) mobilizes volunteers to work alongside scientists to help answer big questions about the world. One of the largest ongoing community science projects is to document the biodiversity of the Earth. iNaturalist is an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature. It’s also a crowdsourced species identification system and an organism occurrence recording tool. When a group of people get together and coordinate to document biodiversity in a short amount of time these efforts are called “bioblitzes.”

Bioblitz Rules

Participants must create an account on iNaturalist and contribute their observations to this project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wpb-backyard-bioblitz

Observations can be dated from December 22, 2020 to February 22, 2021. Bioblitz champs will be announced during the live virtual program on February 23rd!

Observations must be entered into iNaturalist, and registered as either “Research Grade” or “Needs ID”. “Casual” observations will not be included in totals. To this end, inclusion of supporting evidence (usually a photo or sound recording) will be very helpful.

Need Help?

Need help in figuring out how to register for iNaturalist? This YouTube link is helpful: https://youtu.be/yJS63hdWGvs, and the iNaturalist tutorials will walk you through everything if you are unfamiliar with the app. You can find the tutorials here: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/video+tutorials

Live Virtual Backyard Bioblitz Program

Topic: WPB Backyard Bioblitz!
Time: Feb 23, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/99923289542?pwd=SkZ0YnlzcGdzWWNmN2xXZUgwVVhFdz09
Meeting ID: 999 2328 9542
Passcode: 277159
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Meeting ID: 999 2328 9542

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