The City Nature Challenge

May 22, 2021

On April 30 and May 1-3, people in cities all over the world participated in the City Nature Challenge - a search for the diversity of plants and animals that live within metropolitan areas.  For the first time, the Orlando Metro area participated in this event in partnership with the Florida Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.  And here in Winter Park, the Winter Park Land Trust volunteered to organize teams to find out what wild things live in our own parks and open spaces. 

Working in cooperation with the City of Winter Park, the Land Trust fielded City Nature teams documenting the diversity of species in Mead Botanical Garden, Kraft Azalea Garden, Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, the Genius Preserve, the Howell Branch Wetlands, Lakes Virginia and Mizell, and several Winter Park neighborhoods.  Local residents participating in the Nature Challenge included Rollins College students, Mead Garden Volunteers, the Winter Park Community Center Girl Scout troop, the Winter Park Women’s Kayak Club, the Maitland Shores Protective Association, and members of the Winter Park Land Trust.

The City Nature Challenge uses a unique cell phone application called iNaturalist which helps to identify sightings of plants and animals and records when, where and what was seen.  52 observers in the city spotted 237 different species including 172 plants, 25 birds, 26 insects, 4 fish, 3 mammals, 7 reptiles and amphibians, 7 shellfish and snails, and 2 fungi.  In all, 553 occurrences were recorded by Winter Park's volunteers.

Bob Bendick, Vice Chair of the Winter Park Land Trust, who helped organize the event, said, “We were really pleased with the turnout for this first City Nature Challenge event here in Winter Park and with the enthusiasm of the volunteers.  They found many interesting species, and I am sure that this is just the beginning of our discovering the diverse and important range of plant and animal species which find habitat in our mostly developed community.  We very much appreciate the support of the City of Winter Park in making this event so successful”.

Winter Park Land Trust Chair, Steve Goldman, said, “The City Nature Challenge revealed yet another important reason why conserving greenspace is important in Winter Park.  Our parks and other open spaces support nature even in our urbanized community and offer great opportunities to teach children about the importance of healthy ecosystems”.

Overall in Orange County 181 observers participated, identifying 615 different species. The totals from around the world are still being complied, with many communities participating for the first time this year.  It is expected that the results will be high, in part because the COVID Pandemic has brought more people to the outdoors to observe and enjoy nature.

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The mission of the Winter Park Land Trust is to plan, finance, and manage the acquisition of land and interests in land to be used for the creation, expansion, improvement, and connecting of parkland and green space within and adjacent to the City of Winter Park, Florida.  You can become a member at no cost and we hope you will contribute to our efforts to keep the park in Winter Park.