Love nature but don't know what plants and animals live in the desert? Take the guessing game out of naming your finds and learn how to identify desert life by using THE best naturalist apps available today, particularly the iNaturalist app*. The app’s computer recognition will help you identify your observations with verification by an expert, so anyone can do it! This is a casual, come-and-go discovery station, not a structured program. Make sure to bring your phone and/or camera (phone not required). *Due to limited connectivity in parks, it’s advised to download the iNaturalist app while on wi-fi before arriving at the park. Once you’re comfortable using the app, we invite you to return as a park citizen scientist on April 26-29 for the City Nature Challenge, an international effort that encourages all citizens to find and document plants and wildlife on iNaturalist in cities across the globe. This bioblitz-style competition challenges local communities to make the most observations in nature during this 4-day period, and then this data is available for science, management, and conservation. So this April 26-29, connect with your open spaces, your community, and other global naturalist using only your phone or camera to record nature wherever you go! For more info, check out https://greaterphoenixcnc.com/
**Create a SciStarter account first. Download the INaturalist app and create an INaturalist account using the same email address. Then add your INaturalist username to your SciStarter account in “Info & Settings” where noted. Then, your participation in INaturalist projects and events, including the Phoenix Area City Nature Challenge, will count towards SciStarter’s collective goal of One Million Acts of Science this April!