Celebrate Earth Day with the City Nature Challenge
Anyone can participate in this four-day global event 🌎🌷
Earlier this month, astronauts on the Artemis II mission reminded us how special Earth is. This week, we show a little extra love to our home planet.
Earth Day may be on Wednesday, April 22, but in the Capital Region, there are activities to celebrate all week long.
A great way to show your love for our planet is to help preserve it. The Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge coordinate ecological outreach programs year-round, but this week, they’re trying to get the entire city involved in conservation by participating in the City Nature Challenge.
City Nature Challenge is a four-day global event in which participants compete to capture the most wildlife photos. The Capital Region has been part of this challenge since 2021, and this year, it will compete against more than 800 cities.
Amber King is a volunteer with the Louisiana Master Naturalists and is the coordinator for the City Nature Challenge program for Baton Rouge. She says the challenge is a perfect tool to execute the Master Naturalists’ mission.
“The City Nature Challenge is a good match because we want to educate the public and have them go outside and notice nature, and then hopefully, eventually, they’ll want to conserve it,” King says.
To participate in the challenge, all you have to do is get outside, snap pictures of all the different plants and animals you see, and upload them to the iNaturalist app or website. While the challenge is a great incentive to step outside and notice the environment, it also provides valuable resources to scientists across the globe. All pictures entered into the app are processed to provide insight into the biodiversity of an area.
“Then the data becomes open source for us to use to research trends,” King says. “All over the world, people can access the data and use it for lots of studies, watch for invasive species, look for diseases or interactions between different species. It’s really fascinating; the data potential is unlimited.”
According to King, many participants go to state parks and Wildlife Management Areas to document because there aren’t enough staff members to gather data on their own. Organizations like the Louisiana Master Naturalists rely on citizen scientists to help contribute this valuable data.
And since nature is all around, anyone can participate in this event, even children.
“Just give them your iPad, and they find the coolest stuff because they’re closer to the ground,” King says. “There’s nature everywhere, even just in the cracks in your driveway.”
The results of the challenge are released after the event. Alongside biodiversity data, cities also get to see how they performed compared to their opponents. Last year, Baton Rouge documented 2,578 unique species, which landed us a ranking of 29 out of 669 cities worldwide.
This year’s challenge will last from Friday, April 24, to Monday, April 27. To take part, download the iNaturalist app and start documenting.
Other ways to celebrate Earth this week:
Recycle and repurpose Tuesday
In recognition of Earth Day, LSU Hilltop Arboretum presents “Discover Nature: Recycling & Repurposing in Baton Rouge” on Tuesday, April 21.
From 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Arboretum’s Beverly Brown Coates Auditorium, representatives from local organizations discuss local recycling systems and innovative material repurposing efforts.
Registration costs $15 for non-student non-members. LSU Hilltop Arboretum is located at 11855 Highland Rd.
Practice Yoga Wednesday
Geaux Yoga presents a free Earth Day yoga class at Manchac Parish Park on Wednesday, April 22.
This outdoor session is designed for all skill levels.
The event begins at 9 a.m. at Manchah Parish Park, located at 19010 Jefferson Hwy.
Attend a resource fair Thursday
Attend a free Earth Day science resource fair at the LSU Library on Thursday, April 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The LSU Library has partnered with organizations like the LSU Herbarium, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society to prepare tables full of resources, snacks and trivia.
The LSU Library is located at 100 Tower Dr.
Spend a day at the park Saturday
The Walls Project hosts a free community event on Saturday, April 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Baton Roots Community Farm.
The event includes workshops, hands-on service activities, child-friendly activities and resource sharing.
The Baton Roots Community Farm is in BREC’s Howell Community Park, located at 5509 Winbourne Ave. You can register online.
Meet animal ambassadors Saturday
Get wild at Perkins Rowe with animal ambassadors from the Baton Rouge Zoo on Saturday, April 25.
Wild Day at the Rowe will include family-friendly activities, zoo animal appearances, demonstrations, live music and more.
This event is free to attend at Perkins Rowe from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
