The Inwood Butterfly Sanctuary is a vibrant community-driven initiative located in New York City is participating in the 2025 Bioblitz and New York City Nature challenge. This community-driven group plays a crucial role in the conservation of critically endangered Monarch Butterflies through various activities focused on nature learning, advocacy, and community engagement.
Here’s how it connects to the upcoming Bioblitz Project:
Conservation Focus: The sanctuary aims to protect Monarch Butterflies, making it an ideal location for observations during the bioblitz, especially since participants can document various taxa (excluding domestic animals and humans).
Community Engagement: The bioblitz encourages local participation, aligning perfectly with the sanctuary's mission to involve the community in conservation efforts.
Educational Opportunities: The sanctuary serves as a learning hub, where participants can gain insights into butterfly conservation, which can enhance their observations and contributions during the bioblitz.
Biodiversity: The sanctuary's diverse ecosystem provides a rich environment for documenting various species, making it a valuable site for the bioblitz activities.
This synergy between the bioblitz and the Inwood Butterfly Sanctuary highlights the importance of community involvement in conservation efforts while promoting biodiversity in urban settings. 🌼
Bioblitz Project Overview
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2025-new-york-city
The bioblitz starts in 4 days and lasts from April 25 to April 28, 2025, in New York City. Observations must exclude domestic dogs, cats, and humans, and must be of any taxa. Participants can submit research-grade, needs ID, or casual quality observations. Any media type is acceptable. Navigation on the project map involves touch gestures or arrow keys. The migratory season for the Eastern Monarch, Danaus plexippus, butterflies begins in the first week of June in NYC, and their host plant, common milkweed Asclepias syriaca may begin sprouting several weeks prior. Our goal is to visit familiar milkweed patches to look for and document any sign of milkweed, which mayn only be a few millimeters high.
The Inwood Butterfly Sanctuary
https://savemonarchbutterflies.org/
engages in several impactful conservation activities to protect Monarch butterflies. Here are some key initiatives:
Habitat Restoration: The sanctuary focuses on creating and maintaining habitats that support Monarch butterflies, including planting native milkweed and establishing Monarch waystations.
Community Involvement: They encourage local residents to participate in conservation efforts, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility for butterfly protection.
Educational Programs: The sanctuary offers workshops and educational sessions to raise awareness about Monarch butterflies, their life cycle, and the importance of conservation.
Butterfly Rearing: Volunteers often engage in raising healthy Monarch butterflies, which helps increase their population and educate the public about their needs.
Advocacy: The sanctuary actively advocates for policies that protect Monarch habitats and promote biodiversity in urban environments.
These activities not only aim to conserve Monarch butterflies but also enhance community engagement and education about the importance of biodiversity. 🦋
City Nature Challenge Overview
The City Nature Challenge (CNC), initiated in 2016, is an international event encouraging wildlife documentation in urban settings. Organized by the California Academy of Sciences and the NHM, it occurs annually for four days at the end of April, fostering collaboration and friendly competition among cities.
The 2025 CNC will be held in two parts: April 25-28 for wildlife photography and April 29-May 4 for species identification, with results announced on May 5. Participation involves finding wildlife, photographing it, and sharing observations via iNaturalist or local platforms. In 2024, there were over 2.4 million observations made by over 83,000 participants.
https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/
Inwood Butterfly Sanctuary is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmental sustainability and conservation. Our team of passionate individuals works tirelessly to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the natural world and to advocate for policies that support a healthy planet. We believe that everyone has a role to play in protecting our environment, and we work to empower individuals and communities to take action.
