City Nature Challenge 2024
Zoo Knoxville and the Tennessee Butterfly Monitoring Network, in partnership with the City of Knoxville, Ijams Nature Center, Discover Life in America and Sierra Club will once again host the City Nature Challenge in the Knox County area.
What: Cities all over the world will collaborate to observe as much wildlife as possible. Help us record observations of wild plants, animals, fungi and more to see how much nature we can find across the planet while learning who lives nearby.
Where and When: Anywhere in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union counties. Dates are April 26 – April 29, 2024.
Who: Everyone is welcome to record observations. No experience is needed.
How: Download the iNaturalist app to your smartphone (Google Play or App Store), create an account and then start taking pictures using the app. If you don’t have a smartphone you can take pictures with a digital camera and upload them to the iNaturalist website. Observations can become research quality data that helps scientists learn more about nature.
Join us on hikes, bioblitzes and more: Visit the City Nature Challenge 2024: Knox Area project page for more information. Check the journal page for dates and details. If you have a free iNaturalist account you can join the project to receive updates about news and events happening before, during and after the challenge.
Tennessee Butterfly Monitoring Network
TBMN is a citizen science program of Zoo Knoxville to monitor butterfly population trends on managed lands across Tennessee. We strive to connect butterfly enthusiasts with public lands, help land owners manage their properties for the benefit of pollinators and inspire the public to enjoy and protect butterflies and other pollinators.
Trained volunteers adopt a 0.5 – 2 mile route that they monitor at least once every two weeks from mid-April to the end of July, identifying every butterfly they see to the best of their ability. To learn more about volunteering, email Steve McGaffin at [email protected].
You can also follow us on Facebook at: TBMN.ORG