This past week I have gotten the opportunity to participate in the City Nature Challenge here in Burlington!
I explored many parts of Burlington including places on campus, Rock Point and adjacent areas extending down the forested shore of the lake, and the edge of the Winooski river by the bridge in Winooski.
Using the app iNaturalist to participate in this challenge was a really cool experience for me because I had used the app beforehand, but I had never had direct motivation with a competitive aspect to use it so this really gave me the opportunity to enjoy and explore the app more. I found it really easy to use and after using it for a while, it became addicting to keep taking pictures and trying to identify things. I also really liked using the map and exploring different places.
There were so many other cities participating in this challenge globally and that was so cool because I got to see reports from other cities all around the world. It was so interesting to make comparisons between cities and learn which ones were participating the most. I also attended some of the City Nature Speaker events and I really enjoyed them a lot.
Below are some pictures of places other than Centennial, where I spent the most time, that I visited to participate in this challenge:
