Nature walk + bioblitz @ Foster Floodplain

Do you often get excited to see a cool bird, wildflower, chipmunk, snail, mushroom, salamander, butterfly or other animals/plants while you're out in nature? Or have you ever used the iNaturalist or Seek app to identify plants, animals or fungi you see and document them for science? If you answered yes to either one of those questions, this event is for you.

This will be a mindful, slower-paced walk where we'll explore the natural area and stop to check out and snap photos of interesting plants and animals we see along the way. Then we'll use the iNaturalist app to try to figure out what we saw and to record our observation for the bioblitz.

What to expect:

• Foster Floodplain Natural area is a 63-acre nature park along Johnson Creek. It has a mix of open meadow areas, forest, and water to explore.
• We'll be walking (slowly, with frequent stops to take photos and geek out) on gravel and dirt trails that are pretty much flat.
• Kristina and likely other people in the group can help you use iNaturalist to identify things you see.
• We may naturally splinter into some smaller groups if folks want to check out different areas, but you can 100% stay with Kristina the whole time.

What to bring:

• Your phone. (If you don't already have it, please download the iNaturalist app and create your account before the event.)
• Water bottle
• Whatever you need for the weather: sunscreen, rain coat, sunglasses, hat, etc.
• Totally optional: If you have binoculars or a camera you'd like to bring, go for it.

Getting there:

• The park's right on the Springwater Corridor multi-use trail and it has two bike racks.
• There's a small parking lot for cars, and if that fills up I'd recommend parking on the south side of the park on SE Cooper St & 108th Ave, and then walking the trail to the parking lot.

Pretty please...

• Let's follow the Leave No Trace principles, which include things like not picking wildflowers and packing out all your trash.
• No dogs. They're not allowed in Foster Floodplain Natural Area, and they tend to scare off some wildlife.
• 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.

And if you want, you can join the iNaturalist project for this bioblitz and event here.