The dumpster fire that is 2020 has done nothing to stop the glorious critters to be found in the Careless Swamp. The biting insects may be bad and the leeches abundant but the diversity of plants and animals is nothing short of superb! This year is shaping up to be the best yet for the swamp biodiversity survey team that consists of Dr. Philadelphia Cheese, Professor Snuggles (Matt Ireland) and the team of highly skilled child laborers that are brought in periodically to flush out tiny insects with their nimble child fingers.

Overall 2020 may go down in swamp history as the greatest survey season ever and if people keep coughing on each other then 2021 is looking pretty good as well.

The June BioBlitz Award results are in!

Student Chapter
Most research-grade observations: Texas A&M University
Most species: TWS George Mason University

Individual
Most research-grade observations: 1710 observations , Cody Stricker (codycs)
Most species: 688 species, Cody Stricker (codycs)

Congratulations!! We will be in touch with the award winners soon. Don’t forget, the competition has really only just begun!

There are a number of drivers for pollinator decline, including habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, spreading urbanization (including light pollution), overuse of pesticides and herbicides, regional declines in air and water quality, and, of course, the changing climate. But our knowledge about the current decline in pollinators is limited to a few studies, in a few places, in a few different habitats. It is also limited to only a subset of the species that are primarily responsible for pollinating important agricultural resources.

To be able to act with greater certainty to mitigate the specific impacts in a region, managers and scientists need access to more information about which species are being most heavily impacted, which threats can be best addressed, and which solutions are most effective. To date, much of the existing data has been gathered by citizen scientists working together with researchers. Pollinator monitoring is an area where citizen science can be a really useful approach - as evidenced by the many Earthwatch projects that include insects and pollinators as part of their field research. We are now looking to further catalyze this citizen science effort to generate data useful to pollinator conservation efforts globally - by having people collect pollinator data in their backyards, where they work, in nearby parks or as they travel.

http://pza.sanbi.org/sites/default/files/info_library/restoration_kirstenbosch.pdf
http://www.mikegolby.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/95147393-Lost-Fynbos-of-Tokai-Park-v98-March.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1617138120301047
https://www.heathersociety.org/category/heathers/erica-cape/cape-heaths-of-garden-origin/
http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/publications/scriptavaria/noahs_arks/hitchcock.pdf
https://africageographic.com/stories/silver-trees-return-tokai/
https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/Journals/621121/621121-10.pdf
http://pza.sanbi.org/erica-verticillata
https://journals.rbge.org.uk/index.php/rbgesib/article/view/222

&

https://www.capetownbotanist.com/one-lonely-bringing-serruria-furcellata-back-brink-extinction-cape-flats/
https://botsocblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/01/erica-verticillata-rewilding-an-iconic-species-on-rondebosch-common/

I have been on iNaturalist for two years now and haven't done much with it. I have taken pictures of 18 specimens so far. I was always too busy to get out and about. Now I have a lot more time and I plan on doing a lot more. I am planning weekly day trips to areas local to me, and I will gather some pictures of plants and animals. I am a little new to this so my identifications might be a little off and I welcome anyone to correct me.

The first trip I am planning is to Stephen C. Foster State Park in Fargo, GA. There are 1.5 miles of trails there. On the way back home I will go to DuPont Tract WMA in DuPont, GA. Hopefully between the two I will find plenty to post.

6 июля число видов, а также число наблюдений в ККНО на iNat немного сократилось. Это произошло после корректировки данных. Теперь в Красную Книгу будут попадать наблюдения с исследовательским статусом.
Итак, на 7 июля:
число видов - 165
Наблюдений - 2276
Наблюдателей - 76.

Постепенно создаются проекты по нижегородским ООПТ. Большую работу по их созданию и курированию делает Вячеслав Юсупов @tomegatherion. Спасибо ему огромное!

Здесь можно ознакомиться с наблюдениями, а также присоединиться:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/oopt-nizhegorodskoy-oblasti

Would you like to learn how to tell apart one bumblebee from another? Would you like to become a volunteer recorder for our project area? Join us, for an online webinar from Julia Pigott, to learn the basics of bumblebee identification. Get Cumbria Buzzing! Project wish to recruit volunteer recorders to help monitor the abundance and diversity of bumblebees in north west Cumbria, and will provide you with all the help required to get you started.

To make your sightings count we will teach you how to upload them onto the Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre database. Your information will contribute valuable data to local and national biodiversity records. With your help we will be able to create the first Cumbrian Pollinator Atlas and will be able to track insect populations and movements. This valuable data will help inform us on the best ways to support pollinators across the county.

Places are limited to Cumbria only, and the aim of the training is for you to record within our project area, see map on our webpage: https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/getcumbriabuzzing
Please book a place by emailing lucyg@cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk. Once booked on we will then send you a link to the webinar.

ciao tutti

Roberto Ostellino e me abbiamo pensato di fare una gita serale per osservare (e sentire anche) le succiacapre.

L'orario sarebbe un pò prima dell'imbrunire per permetterci di vedere gli animali che o si coricanno o emergano in quest' orario, tale uccelli che si reccano ai dormitoi, o pipistrelli che si fanno vedere anche prima del calare della notte.

La visita comporterebbe una passeggiata sufficiente per localizzare i nostri obiettivi naturalistici ed il punto di ritrovo sarà in tutta probabilità o Musinè o Givoletto.

Se vi interessa, e volete unirvi a noi rispondete a questo messaggio che viene letto anche da Roberto.

Proponiamo un'escursione non tecnologica in quanto chiediamo a tutti quanti di non utillizare richiami per attrare gli animali durante la visita, cosi da non interferire negativamente nei comportamenti territoriali o reproduttivi degli uccelli.

Saluti a tutti

Dave

A review of old photos from 2017 suggested a possible Hesperia sp. not known to occur in BC except on Vanc. Island.
Photos taken July 6, 2020 confirm that Hesperia colorado oregonia has a mainland population at least in one location on the Sunshine Coast on Pender Hill. This is a species of special concern in BC with estimates of total BC population quoted to be low, possibly <1000 individuals. COSEWIC status is "endangered"
See link for more detail.
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/oregon-branded-skipper-2013.html

I forgot that July is one of my favorite months. I realized it as soon as I saw the doe with her delicate, spindle-legged fawn nibbling the long grass along the forested edge of my backyard. I remember a similar pair appearing around this same time last year, their footsteps careful and eyes wide as they paced through the short grass. I had seen evidence for weeks—cropped jewelweed near the stairs, angled prints in the soft soil along the garden’s perimeter—however, I had not laid eyes on them until recently. They must have heard the door open because by the time I was fully outside, they were nervously stepping into the shaded tangle of vines and limbs.

After a long dry spell, the forest has come back to life. Plants that were lingering, parched, now are vibrant. In the tangle of thorns and leaves underneath the back porch, Black Raspberries are creeping into view, fruits turning from white to rose pink and soon to inky purple. To me, July feels like a full expression of life in the Northeast. If you’re wondering what you can expect to see in July, check out this month’s Field Guide and Bees of July for some ideas.

This Week on Tech Tip Tuesday

Sometimes the ability of iNaturalist software to guess a species’ identification for us seems like magic. How did it know that the animal in the photo was more likely to be a Gray Squirrel than an American Mink? If we journey backwards a couple months through the Tech Tip Tuesday archives, you might remember that I wrote a piece about how iNaturalist uses a type of artificial intelligence (AI) called “computer vision” that is trained to recognize features in a photograph that help distinguish one species from another. Thanks to this technology, you can often get fairly accurate suggested identifications that help you better understand the plant, animal, or fungi that you’re seeing in the field.

The key phrase in that last sentence is “suggested identifications”. While it can be tempting to select the top species, genus, or family recommended, it’s important to think through a recommendation before choosing it. Although the AI often gets identifications correct, especially for frequently submitted species, it isn’t right 100% of the time. In some cases, it may provide incorrect suggestions, either because the photograph wasn’t clear, the species isn’t very common, or can’t be identified from a photo alone. But, don’t despair—think of this as a learning opportunity! By exploring the suggested species, you will learn features that will help you make your own identifications and you will become more familiar with other organisms that you might encounter in the future.

So, what should you look at when deciding whether a certain species, genus, or family might be a good fit?

1. Think about it—one of the first things you can do to rule out an incorrect suggestion is to take a moment and consider the species on the list. Are any of them species you recognize and, if so, are they wildly out of place? Or, if you don’t recognize them is there anything in their name that might give you pause? Sometimes, the AI will suggest species from a completely different continent. If you’re in Williston and it’s suggesting a Springbok, I would say there’s a 99.5% chance that it’s wrong (about that last 0.5%—hey, you never know).

2. Compare the photos—sometimes you can quickly tell that a suggestion is wrong by looking at the pictures for the suggested species, genus, or family. This can easily be done when uploading either by clicking on the two arrows next to the suggestion in the app or by clicking on “view” next to the suggestion on the computer. You may not always be able to say that a suggestion is incorrect based on the photos—sometimes species have multiple color morphs, like the Asian Lady Beetle. However, if you aren’t seeing any photos that look similar to your observation, it’s definitely a reason to pause before selecting it.

3. Look for “visually similar/seen nearby”—when looking over the list of suggested species, it’s important to pay attention to which species are considered “visually similar and seen nearby” (this appears below the species’ name). This can help when deciding between two species who look fairly similar—if one is visually similar and one is both visually similar and seen nearby, chances are good that it’s the second one.

4. Check the species’ distribution—besides relying on “seen nearby”, you can also find the suggested species on a map and see how your observation compares to the species’ range. If the suggested species doesn’t seem present in your area then chances are good that it isn’t correct. However, in some cases, a species may appear outside of its range, either as an introduced species or a misplaced migrant. If you believe that this is the case, choose the genus or family and add a comment asking for others’ input before selecting the species.

5. Learn more—if you haven’t been able to rule in or out a suggestion by using the previous steps, take some time to learn more about a suggested species, genus, or family. Develop a better understanding of what conditions it needs to survive in an area, where it’s usually found, and if there are any key features to look for.

Sometimes, you can improve the suggestions by either improving your photo (if your observation is still nearby) or selecting a different photo. Many people don’t realize that, although you can upload multiple photos at once, iNaturalist only looks at the first photo to make its suggestions. So, if your first photo of a tree is the bark and it isn’t yielding any accurate suggestions, try choosing a leaf photo for the first picture. However, it’s still important to include the bark because it will help other users to confirm or contradict the identification.

There are also some species that the AI can’t recognize because there aren’t enough observations available for training. If this happens, other users will likely be able to help provide a more specific identification after you have uploaded the observation. In some instances, a definitive, species-level identification may not be possible. Some species’ identifying features are not visible in an ordinary picture and may require a microscope or a behavioral observation. If you’re unable to select a suggestion, it’s perfectly fine (and encouraged) to pick a broader category, such as “bird” or “fern”, or “animal” or “plant”. Other users will then find these observations and help narrow them down.

TTT Task of the Week

This week, take some time to evaluate suggested identifications before selecting them, if that’s not something you already do. Take some time to look up additional information about the suggested species, paying close attention to their ranges’ and life history traits that may help indicate a correct or incorrect suggestion.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for helping us map Vermont’s biodiversity, stay safe, and happy observing!

P.S. If you want to learn more about how computer vision works, check out these two articles:

https://www.inaturalist.org/blog/31806-a-new-vision-model

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/07/an-app-for-identifying-animals-and-plants/535014/

This project was initiated on July 6, 2020 and includes all insect, myriapod, and arachnid observations to date within the Oregon Coast region. The purpose is to organize, tally, and track these organisms as part of a general effort to document and call attention to them. Unfortunately, there has been a general worldwide decrease in insect abundance and diversity, for reasons not fully understood. But factors likely include pesticide use, loss of habitat, and climate change.

I hope that this project encourages people to pay attention to insects and related animals and to think about the important roles they play in our coastal ecosystem. If you'd like to get involved in this project, please contact us!

La lechuza común es una de las rapaces nocturnas que ha sufrido uno de los mayores descensos en sus poblaciones reproductoras, tanto a nivel nacional, como en la Comunidad de Madrid. La asociación ANAPRI (Asociación Naturalista Primilla), ha emprendido acciones para aliviar y revertir en lo posible este declive.

A finales del pasado año 2019, ANAPRI, preocupada por las alarmantes noticias de las tendencias poblacionales de un par de especies de rapaces nocturnas, como mochuelos y lechuzas, decidió poner en marcha un proyecto para beneficiarlas.
Nos interesó muy especialmente poner el punto de atención en la lechuza común (Tyto alba), que ya fuera declarada Ave del año por SEO/Birdlife en el 2018, haciéndose eco de los resultados de su seguimiento a nivel nacional, que confirmaban un acusado descenso en sus poblaciones. Otros recientes resultados obtenidos del seguimiento en la Comunidad de Madrid, realizado por la asociación BRINZAL, dedicada al estudio y la conservación de las rapaces nocturnas, arrojaban unos preocupantes datos de un declive de un 70% de la población en los últimos 15 años, estimándose la cantidad de parejas reproductoras en la Comunidad de Madrid por debajo de las 50. En Colmenar Viejo (Madrid), donde ANAPRI realiza la mayoría de sus trabajos, no hay más de 2-3 parejas.
Desde hace años, ANAPRI colabora con la Finca de Producción ecológica “La Suerte Ampanera” en el desarrollo de diferentes proyectos encaminados al aumento de su biodiversidad y a fomentar el producto local, de cercanía, y respetuoso con el medio ambiente. La finca, situada en el término municipal de Colmenar Viejo, produce con mimo y de manera sostenible, unos productos de sus rebaños de cabras de excelente calidad, como son sus productos lácteos, especialmente sus quesos, de reconocido renombre. Por citar solo alguno de sus premios, uno de sus quesos fue galardonado como el mejor queso de España en el año 2011. A este premio le han seguido infinidad de reconocimientos a nivel nacional e internacional.
Para dar forma a nuestro proyecto, nos pusimos en contacto con los responsables del Centro de Recuperación para Rapaces Nocturnas de BRINZAL, cerrando el círculo de colaboradores necesarios.
En pleno periodo de confinamiento y con los correspondientes permisos, el 11 de mayo BRINZAL nos cedió 6 pollos de lechuza de aproximadamente un mes de edad, que procedimos a alojar en una caja nido, para desarrollar lo que se conoce como hacking o cría campestre. Este método, consiste en criar los pollos, colocándolos en un nido artificial adaptado a sus necesidades y facilitándoles alimento hasta que sean totalmente independientes, sin necesidad de adultos de su especie, y evitando ser vistos en el aporte de alimentación, para evitar el troquelado o improntado.
Con el esfuerzo de añadir a la rutina diaria la alimentación de las lechuzas, Rafael Gonzalez Torres, uno de los gerentes de la finca, ha hecho posible que 6 nuevas lechuzas vuelen libres y se unan a la exigua población de la rapaz, con la ilusión y la esperanza de que por su condición de filopatría, se establezca una nueva pareja reproductora en la zona, aportando así, nuestro pequeño granito de arena para la necesaria recuperación de esta emblemática dama de la oscuridad.

Autor:
José Antonio Matesanz, Presidente de ANAPRI (Asociación Naturalista Primilla) y coordinador del proyecto “Rapaces Nocturnas en la finca de producción ecológica La Suerte Ampanera”. anapri@hotmail.es
Agradecimientos:
A Rafael González, propietario y gestor de la finca La Suerte Ampanera y a BRINZAL (Centro de Recuperación para Rapaces Nocturnas), en especial a Iván y Kika, así como a los entusiastas socios de ANAPRI, que por las condiciones del estado de alarma no pudieron acompañarnos.

Artículo: http://anapri-asociacionnaturalistaprimilla.blogspot.com/2020/07/ayudando-la-lechuza-comun-tyto-alba-en.html

Дорогие друзья!
Наш проект по Красной книге Владимирской области взял очередную высоту. Сегодня в нем появилось 1000-е наблюдение.

Our teachers are out in force! The tally thus far is 712 observations of 373 different species. Our most common sightings are cottontail rabbit (11) and common milkweed (8). The race for the lead observer continues to be between @alisongillen, @scienceteacher1 and @prosenteach. The final test will be to see who ends this week with the greatest number of Research Grade observations.

Yesterday our teachers were challenged to find representatives from all 5 subgroups of the Plant Kingdom and observations of algae, mosses, ferns and gymnosperms and angiosperms took off. We like to remember that all of the tiniest and most overlooked organisms are important components of our ecosystems.

Keep exploring!

Поздравляем Сергея с выполнением задания! 200 наблюдений за 2 дня - прекрасный результат!

The link below gives access to my just released ‘Buprestidae of South Australia (jewel beetles)’ website. It has an abundance of images covering most SA species and should be a useful aid for identifications, and source of background information.

http://syzygium.xyz/buprestidae/taxonomy.php

The default view is an alphabetic listing, but related species can be grouped together using the 'Genera (taxonomic)' menu item on the upper left of the main page.
The Host plant pages: http://syzygium.xyz/buprestidae/taxonomy_host.php may also be helpful for verifying plant species.

For a cursory look I suggest checking out:
• Melobasis propinqua verna, which has the most comprehensive documentation for breeding stages and host plants,
• Temognatha congener, a particularly beautiful and rare species,
• any of the Ethonion species, of special interest for their gall-making habit,
• Castiarina erythroptera as an example of mimicry.

The 'Introduction' menu item provides background information on Buprestidae, caveats on interpreting the data, and the acknowledgements.

Our Observation of the Week is this Aquilegia buergeriana var. buergeriana flower, seen in Japan by @skycat!

[skycat doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Japanese, so both of us relied on Google Translate here. I’ve cleaned up Google Translate’s version of  skycat’s responses, hopefully not too much was lost in translation in either direction.]

“I've always loved living things since I was a kid, and I used to collect beautiful flowering plants from nearby mountains and grow them at home,” recalls skycat. That passion continued into adulthood, and they’ve been gardening for quite some time now. 

After years of looking at plants that have been bred to be pretty, skycat now wants to show off the beauty of wild plants as well, and has been photographing plants unique to Japan, hoping to one day see them become as popular as the standard garden plants from the country, such as the Golden-rayed Lily (ヤマユリ) and the Japanese Camellia (ヤブツバキ).

One such plant is the native Aquilegia buergeriana, which skycat says is widely distributed in Japan’s mountainous regions. Many members of this species have red sepals, but skycat says in the Tokai region, where they reside, the flowers have whitish-yellow sepals. 

The genus Aquilegia, known in English as “columbines”, contains around 70 species and is native to the northern hemisphere, especially in areas of higher elevation. The flowers of this genus are striking, with five sepals and five petals. The petals have five nectar spurs reaching past the back of the flower, giving the columbine flowers a distinctive look.

skycat tells me they use iNaturalist as a record of “my own images taken in the past. 

I like the fact that I can easily retrieve past images...I take photos so that other people could understand not only the flowers of the plant, but also the leaves, the overall appearance, and the way it appears in its habitat. As I have used iNaturalist, I’ve begun to carefully observe even smaller flowering plants that I had not noticed before.

- by Tony Iwane

- The U.S. Forest Service has a thorough article about the co-evolution of North American columbine flowers and their pollinators (primarily hawk moths and humming birds in North America).

- Differences in columbine nectar spur length are due not to the number of cells in the spur, but to the elongation of those cells.

I decided to participate INaturalist's "Snake Days 2020 Statewide BioBlitz"during City of Austin's "stay home order". It's a challenge because I couldn't go anywhere far away from home and all the city/county parks and greenbelts were closed.
Most of my observations were done alone at night, because summer days are too hot and humid for me and my dog. Texas daytime summer heat can quickly sap my energy, cloud my mind...then heatstroke, lol! As a woman of color, can hiking alone at night ever be considered safe? Well, personally safety is always a concern, that's why I have my dog with me. Even though the risk of being attack is minimal, but I remain very wary of two-legged predators more than any wild animal.
Most of my night time observations were done on public land: Tejas camp, Brushy Creek regional trail (before the 4th July weekend lockdown), Rattan Creek Greenbelt, Riata pond and my backyard.
The highlights of my observation: The Striped Skunk @ Rattan Creek Greenbelt. It sprayed my dog, right on her face!
I want to thank those people who ID'ed my observations, but most importantly, I want to thank my partner in crime...the best trail dog: DoDo (She's the best!)

Caminamos hacia un enfoque integrativo, donde observamos no solo a las plagas sino también al diverso conjunto de insectos benéficos que tenemos en nuestros campos! De MIP---->GIPP

Caminamos hacia un enfoque integrativo, donde observamos no solo a las plagas sino también al diverso conjunto de insectos benéficos que tenemos en nuestros campos! De MIP---->GIPP

Did you know the City has a series of green links? Do you live on one? If so, we’d love to know what biodiversity you have in your backyard.

A key initiative in the Greening Fremantle Strategy is to “Develop links that increase the amount of flora/vegetation and increase habitats for native fauna and encourage their movement between green spaces and to increase and improve biodiversity areas.”

To find out if you live on a green link, check out the My Say Freo page mysay.fremantle.wa.gov.au/wildaboutfreo and look for the Green Links Map in handy documents.

Framing of most buildings complete. The HOA fence has been up for about 5 days, and so now it will be much more difficult to access the field and right-of-way for surveys.

211 observers made 12474 observations between Sunday, June 28 to Saturday, July 4. Among the top five observers, @jmgconsult observed 176 examples of life in the Anacostia watershed; @hholbrook contributed 94; @mellis contributed 80; @ronwertz contributed 66; and @treegrow contributed 46. Rounding out the top 10, @asagasti contributed 31; @paul1009 contributed 31; @stephen 220 contributed 31; @epic2112 contributed 28; and @fanascott contributed 27. 107 people contributed one observation and 26 people contributed two observations, and 19 people contributed 3 observations. Insects were the main species observations this week (459 observations), followed by Plants (428 observations) and Fungi was in third place for the third week in a row (97 observations for Fungi).
A few highlights of observations are provided below, to celebrate the wide variety of life found in the Anacostia watershed. All observations are welcome, every contribution helps document the magnificent diversity of our community. Thank you to everyone who contributed observations this week!

@bpj American Giant Millipede
@baileylozner Greenhouse Millipede
@jmgconsult Brilliant Jumping Spider
@nicki42 Barred Owl
@stephen220 Chimney Swift
@ronwertz Slaty Skimmer
@treegrow Tumbling Flower Beetles
@mellis Virginia Meadowbeauty

Observations this week, by Taxon:
Actinopterygii 9
Amphibia 12
Animalia 10
Arachnida 31
Aves 89
Fungi 97
Insecta 459
Mammalia 32
Plantae 428
Protozoa 6
Reptilia 26
(blank) 48

I am trying to make a mushroom garden in my yard. Not for edibility but more like a wildflower garden. I bring sticks and logs to a shaded wet area of my yard and periodically water it like I would a vegetable garden. My goal is to see what species transfer and to watch them in their different forms and see if they spread and transfer. So far it is mainly made up of crusts, turkey tails, slime molds, jellies and other annual mushrooms.

I am using the tag mushroomgarden to identify the species I have in my mushroom garden.

The Salish Sea Bioblitz runs from July 3 until July 12 this year. This bioblitz creates a "snapshot" of the diversity of species that live in the Salish Sea - birds, whales, seals, invertebrates, seaweeds... sadly, I don't think there will be any fungi. Aspergillus live in the ocean, but they're microscopic.

To help out the bioblitz, you can join The Great Salish Sea Bioblitz community. Then if you are next to or on the water between now and July 12, you can make observations and contribute them to the project.

The event also has a series of online talks about birds, whales, tidepools, art, and culture of the Salish Sea. You can see the schedule or sign up for an event here.

I've created this project to document all the living things observed in our city. I'm creating it as we've just finished the first "Edmonton BiodiverCity Challenge" in June 2020, which will likely become an annual event. In the mean time, this larger biodiversity project will capture all observations over all time. Among other things, it will give us a checklist of species that we know occur here, for those future challenges.

Дорогие друзья!
Наш проект по флоре Владимирской области взял очередную высоту. Сегодня в нем появилось 10000-е наблюдение.

Runge Nature Center will once again be opening its doors to the public starting Tuesday, July 7th. Visitors will be asked to practice social distancing, and it is recommended (not required at this time) that guest wear masks while in the building. Restrooms will be open, but all drinking fountains have been turned off, please come prepared. In order to keep you safe, staff will be practicing social distancing, wearing masks, and sanitizing the facility multiple times a day. Nature center hours are 8 am - 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 8 am - 8 pm on Thursdays.
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Summer is upon us, and with it comes bold, blooming prairie flowers, beautiful pollinating insects, and a new observation challenge. Observe four pollinators and/or flowering plants using the iNaturalist app, then add those observations to the "Runge Biodiversity Project" before uploading. Once you have made your observations stop at the front desk, share your observations with our Runge staff, and receive a free insect field guide and butterfly net. Don't forget to share your favorite observations using Instagram - #RungeBiodiversityProject. Get out, explore, and observe at Runge this summer!

Quattro milioni e mezzo di alberi in più nei prossimi cinque anni, uno per ciascuno dei suoi abitanti, per fare diventare l’Emilia-Romagna il“corridoio verde” d’Italia. Una nuova pianta per ogni residente, a partire dalle prime 500 mila che saranno piantate già quest’anno e che cresceranno nei giardini privati e delle scuole, in aree pubbliche e private e che si vanno ad aggiungere alle 200 mila annuali che già la Regione distribuiva tramite i propri vivai.

Un’operazione che equivale a fermare 26mila automobili l’anno e che porterà all’aumento del 20% del verde nelle città alla fine del 2024: 5 metri quadri in più per ogni abitante.

Lo aveva promesso in campagna elettorale, il presidente Stefano Bonaccini, e sono già state costruite le condizioni per iniziare a farlo. Infatti, il prossimo 22 giugno apre il bando riservato ai vivai dell’Emilia-Romagna per la distribuzione gratuita degli alberi a cittadini, enti locali, istituti scolastici, associazioni e imprese. A sostenere l’intervento nel suo complesso, un maxi-finanziamento di 14,2 milioni di euro che la Regione si impegna a mettere in campo fino al 2024, con la prima tranche da 1,6 milioni di euro immediatamente disponibile.

Un progetto green che rientra nel programma di legislatura della Giunta regionale, un’iniziativa strategica che guarda già alla fase 3 del post emergenza Covid, puntando sulla natura come alleato fondamentale per abbattere le emissioni, tutelare il paesaggio, rendere più attrattivo il territorio e vincere la sfida del cambiamento climatico.

Crono-programma del piano e modalità di distribuzione delle piante sono stati illustrati dal presidente della Regione, Stefano Bonaccini, e dall’assessora regionale all’Ambiente, Irene Priolo, oggi in una videoconferenza stampa.

“Si tratta di un grande investimento verde che guarda al presente e al futuro della nostra regione- ha sottolineato Bonaccini-. Un’iniziativa strategica per rendere più belle e vivibili le nostre città e i nostri territori e quindi migliorare la qualità dell’aria e della vita di tutti i cittadini. Un ulteriore tassello che va arricchire il piano per una svolta green dell’economia e della società regionali, che vede l’Emilia-Romagna ancora una volta all’avanguardia sul piano nazionale nelle politiche per accelerare il passaggio ad un modello di sviluppo all’insegna della sostenibilità ambientale e della lotta al cambiamento climatico. Un passo avanti non più rinviabile, un salto di qualità che l’Emilia-Romagna decide di fare subito, con uno dei primi atti di questa nuova legislatura, per dire che vogliamo ricostruire in fretta e farlo cambiando registro, scegliendo la sostenibilità”.

“I quattro milioni e mezzo di alberi in più- afferma Irene Priolo, assessore regionale all’Ambiente - permetteranno all’Emilia-Romagna di compiere un grande passo in avanti per la qualità dell’aria che respiriamo e della qualità vita delle persone. I nuovi alberi contribuiranno a tagliare fino a 44 mila tonnellate all’anno di anidride carbonica, che è come spegnere quasi 26mila auto all'anno. E poi, tra 5 anni, il verde nelle città aumenterà del 20%: 5 metri quadrati in più per ogni abitante. Complessivamente, 2,5 milioni di piante andranno a riqualificare il verde nelle città e in ambito rurale; altri 2 milioni di alberi permetteranno di realizzare boschi tematici, tra cui quello lungo l’asta del Po, per il quale stiamo già facendo il censimento di 650 ettari di demanio, insieme a piantumazioni lungo le piste ciclabili, in particolare nel tratto emiliano della ciclovia del Vento, e altre infrastrutture pubbliche”.

Come è articolato il piano
Per ogni area dell’Emilia-Romagna - pianura, costa, collina, montagna - è stato definito uno specifico elenco di essenze, per lo più autoctone, tra le quali si potranno scegliere quali mettere a dimora, ritirandole dai vivai. Tutti gli alberi, di alta qualità per assicurarne l’attecchimento, saranno geolocalizzati per seguirne la crescita uno per uno.

Prende quindi il via un importante percorso di partecipazione aperto a tutti coloro che vorranno dare il proprio supporto alla piantumazione e promuovere attività di sensibilizzazione, anche in vista della Giornata nazionale dell’albero del 21 novembre.

“Ci sono tutte le condizioni- osserva Priolo- per un’azione innovativa e trasversale, capace di arricchire la biodiversità e il paesaggio della nostra regione. A inizio settembre si potrà scegliere on line il logo dell’intero progetto. In anteprima, un evento internazionale si terrà il prossimo 21 settembre a Bobbio, comune piacentino proclamato borgo più bello d’Italia nel 2019, in occasione della decima edizione della Festa dell’albero promossa su scala locale”.

La ripartizione dei fondi per provincia
Il totale di circa 1,6 milioni di euro messi a disposizione nel 2020 dalla Regione per acquistare nuovi alberi è suddiviso tra le province in base alla loro estensione territoriale e alla popolazione residente. Per il capoluogo regionale, Bologna, sono in arrivo oltre 310 mila euro; seguono le province di Modena (quasi 220 mila), Parma (oltre 200 mila) e Reggio Emilia (175 mila euro). Circa 154 mila euro sono assegnati rispettivamente a Ferrara e Forlì-Cesena, poi Piacenza 142 mila, a Ravenna oltre 134 mila e a Rimini quasi 91 mila euro.

Il bando
Dal prossimo 22 giugno (ore 14) i vivai della Regione potranno presentare domanda per accreditarsi ed essere autorizzati a fornire gli alberi a Comuni, scuole, cittadini, imprese e associazioni che ne faranno richiesta. Il termine di partecipazione alla selezione scade alle ore 16 del prossimo 3 luglio. La Regione promuoverà la massima diffusione del bando attraverso le associazioni di categoria delle imprese vivaistiche. Per aderire all’iniziativa sarà sufficiente completare il modulo di manifestazione di interesse, collegandosi alla seguente pagina web: https://ambiente.regione.emilia-romagna.it/it/leggi-atti-bandi/.

Per accedere al sito il richiedente dovrà possedere credenziali di identità digitali FedERa di livello alto (e policy password alto) o SPID. Le informazioni per acquisire un account FedERa sono contenute nel manuale utente disponibile all’indirizzo http://federazione.lepida.it. Allo stesso indirizzo è disponibile l’elenco degli enti abilitati a rilasciare le credenziali. Per ottenere un account SPID, tutte le informazioni sono alla pagina: https://www.spid.gov.it/richiedi-spid.

Alla conferma dell’invio della manifestazione di interesse il sistema attribuirà alla prenotazione un codice identificativo unico. Entro le successive 24 ore il richiedente riceverà sull’indirizzo mail indicato nella prenotazione una ricevuta con data e orario di registrazione e il codice identificativo assegnato. Sulla base di questi dati verrà stabilito la regolarità dell’orario di presentazione della manifestazione di interesse.

Tutte le domande saranno valutate e le aziende vivaistiche risultate idonee dovranno confermare tramite la piattaforma telematica la manifestazione di interesse ad accettare la quota di distribuzione delle piante loro assegnata.

La consegna degli alberi
Nel periodo compreso tra i mesi di ottobre e dicembre 2020, Comuni, scuole, cittadini, imprese e associazioni potranno rivolgersi ai vivai accreditati per ritirare gratuitamente gli alberi da mettere a dimora. Sarà consentita la scelta tra varietà specifiche adatte ai vari territori: piante prevalentemente autoctone coerenti con le caratteristiche ecologiche del sito di posa.

Ogni esemplare presenterà caratteristiche qualitative tali da garantirne l'attecchimento, come ad esempio apice e apparato radicale ben formati, oltre ad un adeguato rapporto altezza/diametro. Per quantitativi richiesti superiori alle 100 unità saranno richiesti i dati catastali dei terreni interessati alla messa a dimora; viceversa saranno solo richiesti i dati anagrafici del beneficiario.

For any of the Texas Nature Trackers projects, accuracy is a very important parameter that determines the usefulness of an observation for inclusion in the Texas Natural Diversity Database. We encourage you to make sure you assign an accuracy of less than 500 meters when uploading observations. This is as easy as selecting on "location" and pinpointing your observation on the map and then selecting "update observation."