Bioblitz nature walk for City Nature Challenge

Are you curious about the native plants and wildlife we have here in Portland? Let's join in on the annual City Nature Challenge this weekend and see what we can find!

This will be a mindful, slower-paced walk where we'll explore this nature park and stop and smell the roses, so to speak — and maybe snap a photo with our phones and figure out exactly what kind of rose it is.

What is the City Nature Challenge?
It's an annual "bioblitz" where people around the world document the plants and wildlife in their cities, just by adding photos (or audio recordings) with the date and location to an app/website I absolutely love called iNaturalist. That data is used by scientists, conservationists and the community to better understand urban biodiversity and how different species are doing.

What to expect:

• Powell Butte Nature Park is pretty big (3x the size of Mount Tabor) and has a nice mix of open meadows and forest.
• There's a decent-sized parking lot with a restroom where we'll be meeting.
• From the parking lot, there is a mix of paved and gravel/dirt paths that aren't too narrow. (If you'd like to stay on the paved paths, let me know and we can do that.)
• We'll probably see (or hear) a bunch of cool stuff: various wildflowers in bloom, many types of birds (woodpeckers, birds of prey, hummingbirds, etc.), butterflies, maybe deer or a (harmless) garter snake... and perhaps even something that hasn't been documented at this park before.
• We may naturally splinter into some smaller groups if folks want to check out different areas, but you can 100% stay with me the whole time. In much of the meadow area you can see pretty far too, so you could explore a bit and still stay within sight distance of the main group.

What to bring:

• Your phone. (If you'd like to participate in the bioblitz, I'd recommend downloading the iNaturlist app and creating your account before the event just to save time.)
• Water bottle
• Sunscreen, sun hat, sunglasses, etc.
• Snacks or lunch, if you want. Some folks might stick around afterwards and eat near the park entrance. Or some folks could go out to eat somewhere afterwards.
• Totally optional: If you have binoculars or a camera with a zoom lens you'd like to bring, go for it.
• Have a well-behaved kiddo? Feel free to bring them if you promise they won't run off trail (there is stinging nettle) or stomp on any critters :-)

Pretty please...

• Let's follow the Leave No Trace principles, which include things like not picking wildflowers, packing out all your trash, and staying on existing trails.
• No dogs, please. They tend to scare off some wildlife, and honestly they can stress me out a bit.
• As always, make sure to follow the Community Rules in this group's About section, and please keep your RSVP up to date.

Any questions? Comment below or send me a message.