by Anne Burke
Nature Conservancy Canada offers a prairie grasslands action plan to conserve 500,000 plus hectares by 2030 – an area six times the size of Calgary. The first-ever Citizen Science Day was in 2016. Global city scientists participate in the largest community science biodiversity census in the world while helping us better understand – and therefore, take care of – the nature that lives in and around urban areas. Volunteers find nature or wildlife, note the location, take a picture or record a sound, then share their observations online through iNaturalist. The YYC City Nature Challenge collected pictures of wild plants and animals, April 24 to 27; then uploaded observations and identified what was found April 28 to May 10. Results will be announced online Wednesday, May 13. Planning for 2027 is already underway. Jane’s Walk (May 1, 2, and 3) is an annual global festival of walking tours. Jane Jacobs (1916 to 2006) was a writer, urbanist, and activist. She promoted walking to foster a sense of belonging. The free event shares stories, discovers communities, and brings neighbours together in 500 plus cities. The YYC walks are sponsored by the Federation of Calgary Communities. Since 1976, The May Species Count has been a citizen scientist project. You can read the results of the 2025 May Bird Count online. In the Alberta Summary there were 477 participants who spent 1,376 hours counting 166,709 birds from 264 species. You can contribute your observations too. Some fascinating plants can be found in our region. The annual survey (May 25 to 31) focuses on the flowering status of native plants. The aim is to collect valuable plant data while encouraging stewardship and promoting appreciation of Alberta’s natural areas. Anyone with an interest can participate. However, it is important to first read the project purpose and instructions, at https://naturealberta.ca/may-plant-count/.
