Get ready to celebrate Earth Day and City Nature Challenge 2021!

In partnership with the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD), the San Bernardino County Museum are celebrating Earth Day (April 22), in conjunction with the Inland Empire: City Nature Challenge (April 30-May 9). The virtual program will offer you the opportunity to make a difference for your local biodiversity, connect with nature and show the world your community pride — it’s as easy as taking a photo. Put your community’s biodiversity on the map during the 2021 City Nature Challenge (CNC).

Activities

• Upcycle Activity Video: Make Your Own Binoculars
• Biodiversity Lesson Plan
• Nature Scavenger Hunt
• Citizen Science Engagement
• Virtual Tour of the Exhibit Here Comes the Sun: Solar Science and Spirituality with Museum Director, Melissa Russo

Explore your Neighborhood

• Take a walk and see what other organisms share your neighborhood. Make sure to practice social distancing by keeping space between people of at least 6 feet. Be considerate of others and cross the street, if necessary to maintain distance. (Always be mindful of traffic and safety.)
• Look up to spot birds sitting in trees or on powerlines and telephone poles.
• Look down to find insects, crawling on the pavement or underneath leaves.
• What else might you find?
• Visit your local park or regional park. Make sure to practice social distancing by keeping space between people of at least 6 feet. Look in the grass, on plants, under benches and tables, and up in the trees. How many different species will you find?

The 2021 City Nature Challenge will take place in two parts:

Part 1: April 30 – May 3, 2021

Taking pictures of wild plants, insects, and animals.

Part 2: May 4 — 9, 2021

Identifying the images.

How to Participate: Download the iNaturalist app from the App Store or Google Play.

1. Find Wildlife
   It can be any plant, animal, or any other evidence of life found in the Inland Empire.



2. Take a Picture
   Take pictures of all the WILD plants and animals you can find in your area. Be sure to note its location.



3. Find Wildlife
   Upload your photos to the iNaturalist app. Your observations will be automatically included in the City Nature Challenge.

Help identify what everyone found from May 4 – May 9.

The City Nature Challenge is an international celebration of biodiversity in and around urban areas. Normally, cities compete to see who can make the most observations of nature, find the most species, and get the most people involved. The City Nature Challenge was founded and is organized by the citizen/community science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles county. For more information, visit citynaturechallenge.org.