Friday, April 26
Philadelphia County, PA
Bartram’s Garden with Jason Weckstein
8.00 am – 11.00 am – Jason Weckstein, Associate Professor BEES/Associate Curator of Ornithology Academy of Natural Sciences and Matthew Halley, Ph.D. Candidate BEES will lead a bird/nature walk at Bartram’s Garden. Join them for a few hours in the field to photograph and identify as many species as possible. While the walk will focus on birds, we will also photograph other wildlife and will upload images to iNaturalist. The walk will start at 8 am at the Bartram’s Garden parking lot.
(CANCELED) Andorra Meadow with PA Master Naturalist Kris Soffa
10.00 am – 12.00 pm – Meet at Wissahickon Environmental Center. Registration is recommended for all hikes (required if indicated) so that participants can be informed of weather or other emergency cancellations. Register at: https://www.fow.org/event/ta-hike-ks-19-4/
12.00 pm – 2.00 pm – Meet at Wissahickon Environmental Center. Registration is recommended for all hikes (required if indicated) so that participants can be informed of weather or other emergency cancellations. Register at: https://www.fow.org/event/ta-hike-ks-19-5/
Bird Walk with Billy Brown
12.00 pm – 1.00 pm – Join Billy Brown, nature writer for Grid Magazine and co-host of the Urban Wildlife Podcast along with DVOC President and birder George Armistead on a lunchtime birding walk in Independence National Historical Park. Eighty-six species of birds have been recorded in the park, and we hope to see some of Center City’s resident birds, as well as migrants, passing through. Meet at the Commodore John Barry statue just south of Independence Hall at noon.
Center City Walk with Sierra Club Local Outings
5.30 pm – 6.30 pm – Meet us at the Gazebo in Rittenhouse Square to get familiar with the iNaturalist app and then do scatter around the square to begin capturing data on the wildlife of Center City. Yes! It’s there! Come participate in the competition and we will document just how much. More info and registration here: https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7010Z0000027ZwhQAE
(RESCHEDULED to Monday) Sunset Toad Walk
with Trish Fries, Wissahickon Environmental Center, and PA Master Naturalist Kris Soffa
7.00 pm – 9.00 pm – Meet at Wissahickon Environmental Center.
This hike coincides with the breeding season of some frogs including American toads. We will listen to the strange and often beautiful songs of these night-singing amphibians. We’ll record our sightings on the iNaturalist app for the City Nature Challenge on April 26-29. Registration is recommended for all hikes (required if indicated) so that participants can be informed of weather or other emergency cancellations. Register here: https://www.fow.org/event/ta-hike-ks-19-8/
(CANCELED) Citywide Star Party and CNC at Laurel Hill Cemetery
7.30 pm – 10.00 pm – Bring a picnic blanket and take a tour of the cosmos with local astronomers while documenting the nocturnal flora and fauna that reside in the cemetery for the CNC at the same time. As part of the Philadelphia Science Festival (www.philasciencefestival.org), 23 venues around the city will host star parties with amateur astronomers coming out en mass with their telescopes to show locals the wonders of the night sky. The Citywide Star Party at Laurel Hill Cemetery will take place on Friday, April 26, 2019 weather permitting. Gates open at 7:30pm. Visitors can enter through Laurel Hill’s Gatehouse at 3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19132. Free parking is located in the lot across the street from the Gatehouse.
Montgomery County, PA
Valley Forge NHP with Kristina
9.45 am – 12.00 pm – Meet at Artillery Parking Lot (40.094131,-75.449171)
Valley Forge National Park has over 40 hectares of grassland and meadow, as well as dry and flood-plain forests, so we should have some success at finding birds, insects, plenty of herbaceous plants and trees, and depending on weather, some interesting mosses and fungi. Please download the iNaturalist app to your phone from your preferred app store, and set up an account ahead of time if possible. Digital cameras welcome also. Meet at 9:45 for a brief intro and we will head out to observe at 10:00. Heavy rain or thunderstorms will cancel this event.
Crossways Preserve with Kristy Morely (WVWA)
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Crossways Preserve, Blue Bell PA
Meet WVWA Naturalist Kristy Morley in the Crossways parking lot for a quick intro to using iNaturalist, and then we will spread out across the preserve to make observations. Please download the iNaturalist app to your phone from your preferred app store, and set up an account ahead of time if possible. Digital cameras welcome also. Be prepared for going off-trail!
Register at: http://www.wvwa.org/calendar/
Saturday, April 27
Philadelphia County, PA
John Heinz NWR with Navin Sasikumar
8.00 am – 10.00 am – Meet at the Visitor Center. Quick intro to using iNaturalist and then we can spread out and observe wildlife.
10.30 am – 12.30 pm – John Heinz walk Part 2. We’ll start at the visitor center and explore a different section of the refuge from the earlier walk.
Bartram’s Garden
9.00 am – 4.00 pm – Help us kick off our Spring Fling weekend with the Bartram’s BioBlitz! We’ll be posted up from 9am to 4pm trying to find as many species as possible, but you’re welcome to come and go as you please (or even come early! Looking at you, birders.) This event will occur throughout the site. You can find a map and get help setting up the iNaturalist app at the picnic area by the Barn. We will also have volunteer naturalists posted throughout the Garden to answer your critter questions! Make sure to check out our Spring Plant Sale and other great activities at the Garden this weekend.
Bioblitz in Tacony Creek Park
10.00 am – 12.00 pm – Join TTF Watershed on a Tacony Creek Park safari as we explore the woods, meadows and creek, snapping photos of wildlife and uploading our observations to iNaturalist. We’ll split into teams and cover the different habitats found in our urban watershed park. Download the free iNaturalist app on your own mobile device or just tag along and join in the fun as we see what wildlife we discover! (Bring rain boots or waders if you want to be on creek critter duty!)
Where: Tacony Creek Park I St & Ramona Avenue Gateway (4528 I St, Philadelphia, 19124)
Historic Rittenhouse Town with Joe Durrance and Friends of Wissahickon
10.00 am – 1.00 pm – Meet at Historic Rittenhouse Town to document the biodiversity of this part of the Wissahickon for the CNC. Register here: https://www.fow.org/event/cnc2019-hrt/
Mt. Moriah Cemetery Lichen Walk with Natalie Howe
10.30 am – 12.00 pm – Mt. Moriah Cemetery is a peaceful natural area in West Philadelphia. This is one of the few cemeteries where some of the tombstones are in the shade of forested areas, so we’ll be able to find urban lichens growing on both the trees and the tombstones. Natalie Howe will lead the walk and will point out some of the urban lichens that grow here, and will introduce you to some of the neat features of the lives of lichens. Please wear footwear that is good for walking in the grass. This walk is part of the City Nature Challenge.
6164 Kingsessing Ave
Discovery Center with Keith Russell
12.15 pm – Audubon will be having nature walks at the Discovery Center on Saturday April 27 at 12:15 and 1:45 PM. The walks will be led by Keith Russell. The Discovery Center is located in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia at 3401 Reservoir Dr, Philadelphia, PA 19121.
1.45 pm – Audubon will be having nature walks at the Discovery Center on Saturday April 27 at 12:15 and 1:45 PM. The walks will be led by Keith Russell. The Discovery Center is located in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia at 3401 Reservoir Dr, Philadelphia, PA 19121.
Wissahickon Hike with Sierra Club Local Outings
2.00 pm – 4.30 pm – We will meet at the Valley Green Inn for hiking and observations of the beautiful Wissahickon creek and gorge. Information on use of the iNaturalist app will be sent to all registrants ahead of time so you will be ready to help gather information on the wildlife of the land, air, and creek. More info and registration here: https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7010Z0000027ZwwQAE
Montgomery County, PA
Bird Walk at West Laurel Hill Cemetery with Gregg Gorton
7.30 am – 10.30 am – Expert birder, Gregg Gorton, will lead participants on a bird walk through the beautiful grounds of West Laurel Hill so we can watch and listen for migrants returning north to breed. Attendees will meet at the Conservatory on the grounds (215 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, PA) and are encouraged to reconvene after the walk at the Conservatory for coffee and doughnuts. This is free event but RSVP is required. Donations will be accepted to support the Lower Merion Conservancy. RSVP Link – https://conta.cc/2MUBEWI
Ralph Morgan Park with TTF Watershed
10.00 am – 12.00 pm – Join us Saturday, April 27 from 10 am – 12 pm for a Mini-Blitz in Ralph Morgan Park. Meet at the playground in Ralph Morgan Park (Street address is roughly 5 South Avenue, Wyncote, PA 19095).
Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust
11.00 am – Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust is hosting our 5k Run/Walk this Saturday, April 27th at 9:00 AM at our headquarters on 2955 Edge Hill Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006. After the race, staff will be giving instructions to help people download the iNaturalist app and begin recording wildlife out on the preserve. Participants will be encouraged to explore on their own for the rest of the challenge ending on April 29th.
Briar Bush Nature Center
1.00 pm – 3.00 pm – Meet at Briar Bush Nature Center, 1212 Edge Hill Road, Abington, PA 19001. We’ll be giving instructions to help people download the app and have small guided groups staying (mostly) on our trails with staff or volunteer. Participants are also encouraged to explore on their own for the rest of the challenge.
Bucks County, PA
5 Mile Woods Lichen Walk with Dennis Waters
1.00 pm – Lichen grow all around us and yet we look right past them. No more! On Saturday, April 27th at 1 PM, join lichenologist Dennis Waters for a guided walk at 5 Mile Woods Preserve in Lower Makefield Township (Bucks County) to learn about and document lichen for the CNC. You’ll learn about these fantastic unions of fungi and algae that grow on brick, stone, and tree bark all around us.
Gloucester County, NJ
Glassboro Woods WMA with Sandra Keller
7.30 am – This walk meets at 7:30 am at the parking lot along Carpenter at the west end. The Rt. 47 end. Be prepared for a lot of walking. Hopefully we can still drive in in which case we will drive to different habitats – but this area is usually closed off to vehicles by mid April. We will start birding until the birds get quiet. I am hoping for L. Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler – all birds of a south Jersey swamp and forest area. It is still April, so some species will not be back yet. This is a birding by ear spot – most sightings are heard only. When the birds get quiet – the butterflies and dragonflies get active. We hope for Spring Azures, Henrys and Pine Elfins, anglewings, maybe a Falcate Orangetip, etc. We actually will be looking and photographing everything for the challenge! There’s a lot of different botany species in here – Spicebush, maybe Goldenclub if the water levels aren’t too high. The Cellophane Bees were a treat a month ago – not sure if they will still be active.
Sunday, April 28
Philadelphia County, PA
Gorgas Lane with Lisa Myers and Friends of Wissahickon
9.00 am – 1.00 pm – Meet at Gorgas Lane Trailhead to document the biodiversity of this part of the Wissahickon for the CNC. Register here: https://www.fow.org/event/cnc2019-gorgas/
Mushroom Walk with Luke Smithson At Pennypack Environmental Center
10.00 am – 2.00 pm – Join Luke Smithson at the Pennypack Environmental Center (8600 Verree Rd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19115) for a walk focusing on observing and identifying fungi. We’ll spend two hours collecting and 2 hours identifying what we found. There is ample parking in the area and at least a portapotty in a near parking lot.
Awbury Arboretum BioBlitz
10.00 am – 12.00 pm – Join this communal citizen-science effort to record as many of the Arboretum’s species as we can! Connect to the environment while generating useful data for science and conservation.
Location: Meet at the Cope House at Awbury Arboretum, 1 Awbury Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19138
Event is FREE and open to all ages, but registration is required at http://awbury.org/events/bioblitz-at-awbury/
Fort Mifflin with Billy Brown
10.30 am – 12.30 pm – Join Billy Brown, nature writer for Grid Magazine and co-host of the Urban Wildlife Podcast for a nature walk at Fort Mifflin, Sunday, April 28th at 10:30 AM. Rated an area of high natural heritage significance by the PA Natural Heritage Inventory Program, Fort Mifflin combines both natural history and human history interest, tucked in along the Delaware River shoreline. As we walk we will document the biodiversity of the fort and its grounds. Note that admission is required (http://www.fortmifflin.us/plan-your-visit/).
Cobbs Creek Park with LandHealth Institute and the Philadelphia Watershed Stewards
11.00 am – 1.00 pm – Join Dan Kobza of LandHealth Institute and some of our Philadelphia Watershed Stewards as we welcome spring exploring the varied habitats Cobbs Creek Park. We’ll meet at Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center at 700 Cobbs Creek Parkway. We’ll take a look at the creek, travel to the meadow, visit the woods, and check out the Naylor’s Run Wetland. We can expect migrating birds, running fish, blooming flowers and budding plants. While we explore we’ll be taking part in the Philadelphia City Nature Challenge, a BioBlitz using iNaturalist.
Glen Fern meet-up hosted by Craig Johnson, FOW, Interpret Green and bioPhilly
12.00 pm – 4.00 pm – Meet at Glen Fern next to Livezey Dam in the Wissahickon Park for CNC Philadelphia. Come learn about the City Nature Challenge and enjoy a hike while documenting the plants and animals along the Wissahickon Valley Orange and White Trails. Glen Fern will be a base-camp to provide support for using the iNaturalist app to document your observations. There will be experts to help identify the flora and fauna in your photos. Rest, relax and meet others who enjoy nature and like to explore the outdoors. Glen Fern is located in the Park next to the Wissahickon Creek at the cul-de-sac along Livezey Lane. Please note that there is no parking along the roads, lanes or trails in the Park. Entrance to the Orange and White Trails are from Kitchen’s Lane, Valley Green and Wise’s Mill Road. This event is sponsored and hosted by FOW, Interpret Green and bioPhilly. Register here: https://www.fow.org/event/cnc2019-glenfern/
Art Museum with Bethany Teigen
3.30 pm – 5.30pm – Join Bethany Teigen for a mushroom walk in the Art Museum Area. We can meet at the stairs behind the Art Museum, near the statue of Stephen Girard. We’ll have a pretty easy hike for approximately 2 hours around the Art Museum, Boathouse Row, and Lemon Hill. We can expect to see lots of different spring mushrooms, both edible and poisonous.
Horticultural Center with Sierra Club Local Outings
2.00 pm – 4.30 pm – We will meet at the Horticulture Center and then scatter around the grounds within the park to explore and identify the wildlife of Philadelphia. Information on use of the iNaturalist app will be sent to all registrants ahead of time so you will be ready to help gather information from sidewalk cracks to in the trees, wherever life is doing its thing! More info and registration here: https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7010Z0000027Zx6QAE
Camden County, NJ
Gateway Park with Julia Raskin
2.00 pm – 3.30pm – 2798 Admiral Wilson Blvd, Pennsauken Township, NJ 08109
Join us on Sunday, April 28 as we participate in the City Nature Challenge! Julia Raskin, Program Manager for Camden Parks and Greenways, will lead this walk through the newly opened Gateway Park. Bring binoculars and some water, and be on the lookout for soaring eagles, delicate butterflies, and any other wildlife you can spot!
For more information about the Philadelphia City Nature Challenge, please visit https://cncphilly.org/
To sign up for this FREE event, please visit https://www.njconservation.org/event/city-nature-challenge-gateway-park/
Burlington County, NJ
Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve with Tony Croasdale
7.00 am – Meet at parking lot 449 Sooy Place Road, Vincetown, NJ 08088.
This walk is part of the Philadelphia City Nature Challenge. We will focus on birds, particularly breeding warblers, but will be looking at plants, insects, fungi etc too. The preserve is in the NJ Pine Barrens however it has a bit more diversity in the plant community, fostering an impressive bird list. This location has prairie, pine, hooded, blue-winged, prothonatary, worm-eating, and many more breeding warblers. This is also a good spot for summer tanager.
Afterwards, we will visit nearby Franklin Parker Preserve for a more plant focused trip.
Delaware County, PA
Bird/Butterfly Walk with Clifford Hence (John Heinz NWR – Route 420 Entrance)
9.00 am – 11.00 am – Cliff Hence will lead a bird/butterfly walk on Sunday, April 28th meeting at the RT 420 entrance to the John Heinz NWR refuge at 9 AM. Besides the birds and butterflies, we will also be looking at plants, insects, and reptiles in the area. This event is free and open to the public.
Monday, April 29
Philadelphia County, PA
Houston Meadow with PA Master Naturalist Kris Soffa
10.00 am – 12.00 pm – Meet at Houston Playground. Registration is recommended for all hikes (required if indicated) so that participants can be informed of weather or other emergency cancellations. Register at: https://www.fow.org/event/ta-hike-ks-19-6/
12.00 pm – 2.00 pm – Meet at Houston Playground. Registration is recommended for all hikes (required if indicated) so that participants can be informed of weather or other emergency cancellations. Register at: https://www.fow.org/event/ta-hike-ks-19-7/
FDR Park with Sierra Club Local Outings
5.30 pm – 6.30 pm – We will meet in FDR Park to meander and enjoy the evening while gathering information about the wildlife of South Philly. Exact meeting location and Information on use of the iNaturalist app will be sent to all registrants ahead of time, but we will also be available to answer questions while we are at the park. https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7010Z0000027ZxLQAU
Sunset Toad Walk
with Trish Fries, Wissahickon Environmental Center, and PA Master Naturalist Kris Soffa
7.00 pm – 9.00 pm – Meet at Wissahickon Environmental Center.
This hike coincides with the breeding season of some frogs including American toads. We will listen to the strange and often beautiful songs of these night-singing amphibians. We’ll record our sightings on the iNaturalist app for the City Nature Challenge on April 26-29. Registration is recommended for all hikes (required if indicated) so that participants can be informed of weather or other emergency cancellations. Register here: https://www.fow.org/event/ta-hike-ks-19-8/
Philadelphia - City Nature Challenge 