Mount Holly Newsflash - Monday, March 22, 2021 - Morning edition The weather today in Mount Holly - Sunny, with a high near 61. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Archived Newsflash emails can be read at: https://mthollynewsflash.blogspot.com
Mount Holly Biodiversity Project Welcomes Spring!
Since mid-January when the project began, Mount Holly residents and visitors have been sending in their observations to a project that aims to build an inventory of all living things in the town of Mount Holly. It's built on the free iNaturalist software so also helps you identify almost anything you see in nature! As of March 21, there have been 1,278 observations submitted and 587 species of plants, animals, and fungi identified by 97 observers! That's 28 new species added in March. Already 28 volunteers have joined the project and spring has just begun. The Project is Free, open to the public, and everyone is invited to check out our progress at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mount-holly-biodiversity.
Your observations will help!Using iNaturalist on your smart phone or computer, every time you see a bird, a plant, or a wild animal in Mount Holly iNaturalist will help you identify it and then submit it to our community project. All you do is take a photo on your smart phone or digital camera, submit it to iNaturalist, and the program gives you the probable identification and gives you credit for the observation! Can you guess the most common species found in Mount Holly?
Ready to give it a try? Download the Free app to your smart phone from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Once downloaded, navigate to Help in the drop-down menu and follow the illustrated instructions for Getting Started or watch the video tutorial. Your smart phone is now your easiest tool to learn the names of the plants & animals that you find and to support our town project.
How can I join? Once you have the app on your smart phone you can join the Mount Holly Biodiversity project. When you open the app on your phone or go to our project webpage on your computer (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mount-holly-biodiversity) click on "Join Project" just above the green "About" square of text describing the project. Once you have joined the project your observations will automatically be submitted to our town's ecological inventory plus you will receive occasional news and updates about the project. The project webpage also shows you who has the most species, how many species have been found, lists the most frequently seen species (can you guess what it is?), and provides an interactive map of Mount Holly showing where all the observations have been recorded!
As mud season turns into spring there will be an explosion of wildflowers, birds, insects, amphibians and more for you to enjoy. New birds seen in town this past weekend include Bluebirds, Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, & Dark-eyed Juncos. If you've seen these or others, iNaturalist wants to know.
This is a great outdoor family activity and a wonderful way to teach children about nature. This is "citizen science" at its best, we hope you will enjoy using iNaturalist to learn the names of the plants and animals you find and join us in learning more about the amazing natural biodiversity of Mount Holly. The project is sponsored by the Mount Holly Conservation Trust and the Mount Holly Conservation Commission. If you would like some assistance getting started or have questions, call Jim at 802-259-2311.
