The Barrington Land Conservation Trust has teamed up with City Nature Challenge to bring a Biodiversity Walk to Johannis Farm Wildlife Preserve on Sunday, April 26, at 11 am. City Nature Challenge is a global community science event that invites people around the world to document local wildlife to help support global scientific efforts. This year marks RI’s 5th year participating in the Challenge. Participants will take part in a community bioblitz: a focused effort to find and document as many species as possible within a set area over a short period of time. The walk is free and open to the public. To register, visit www.blct.org/events

Using the iNaturalist app, you’ll photograph and upload observations to record plants, animals, fungi, and other living organisms right here in our community. This will become real data that scientists can use to track where species are found, monitor changes over time, and inform local conservation decisions. Your contributions help build a clearer picture of biodiversity in our region while boosting our city’s totals in the Challenge.

No previous experience or species knowledge is necessary. The walk will begin with a brief introduction to iNaturalist and simple tips for making good observations before the walk begins. It's recommended that you bring comfortable walking shoes or boots, a charged smartphone with the iNaturalist app downloaded (available for Android and iPhone), and curiosity about nature. You'll walk away with new observation skills, a deeper understanding of local biodiversity, and the tools to keep exploring nature after the Challenge ends!

Optional iNaturalist Training with Audubon
If you’d like to get advance training for the bioblitz activity, Audubon is offering a free iNaturalist Field Training on Tuesday, April 7, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium, 1401 Hope Street, Bristol, RI. The training is not required to participate in the walk, but it will help you record as many species as possible. To register for the training, go to the City Nature Challenge event page on www.blct.org/events [blct.org] for a direct link to the Audubon training.

Johannis Farm Wildlife Preserve
Johannis Farm Wildlife Preserve is a 32-acre expanse of field, forest, and salt marshes on the border of the Palmer River, off Sowams Road in Barrington, RI. Dogs are not allowed on this property. The terrain is gentle but may be wet in places.