The California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History of Los Angeles County have released the results of their eighth annual City Nature Challenge, one of the world's largest community science events.Â
The four-day weekend event, which started in 2016 as a friendly competition between the two cities and has since expanded globally to 450 cities, garnered 66,300 participants who documented nearly 2 million wildlife observations last week.Â
Community scientists used iNaturalist, a free mobile app, and logged an array of wild plants, animals and fungi, which varied from the endangered and the elusive to those outside of their known ranges. The undertaking is meant to harness the power of community science in tracking the planet's biodiversity, especially in urban areas.Â
"Slowing down and really seeing how many different species are around you no matter where you are — maybe even finding something you had no idea lived around you — helps to build a deeper appreciation for the natural world," said Alison Young, co-founder of the challenge and co-director of community science at the academy.Â
Over 2,480 people participated in the San Francisco Bay Area and submitted more than 31,900 of their observations to iNaturalist. With over 2,850 species documented, the California poppy had its day in the sun as the most observed species.Â
