Overstrand Municipality is calling on all residents in the Overstrand to participate in the annual City Nature Challenge (CNC) for the first time, after a successful Great Southern Bioblitz last year where we came second in the southern hemisphere.
The Challenge takes place in two parts: From April 29 – May 2 participants can take pictures of plants, animals, marine life, fungi, etc within the Overstrand. Then, from April 29 – 8 May 2022, uploading and identification of these photos will take place.
All you need to do, is to register on the iNaturalist app (download from iNaturalist.org), grab your cellphone or camera and begin taking photos of birds, insects, plants and other life (other than humans or pets) in your neighbourhood, on the beach and in mountains and upload them on the database.
There is also a category for marine life and deep sea divers, especially, are requested to please assist with photographs. The Cape Whale Coast Hope Spot (CWCHS) is willing to take divers to good diving spots to take photographs.
Life in rock pools and estuaries can also be photographed during the challenge (above and below the water). CWCHS members will be available to assist the CNC to identify marine/estuarine species. Contact Tarron Dry on 028 316 3724 or Email: tdry@overstrand.gov.za for additional information.
Remember that participants do so at their own risk, and that the organisers cannot accept responsibility for any injuries etc.
Follow the CNC Overstrand https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2022-overstrand and on their Overstrand Bioblitzing page on Facebook for detailed information.
About CNC
The annual City Nature Challenge is a global community science competition to document different plants and animals. The public is challenged to find and document plants, animals and other organisms within a specific area.
This influx of information gives scientists, educators, urban planners and policy makers, especially, insight into the biodiversity of locations throughout the world.
The City Nature Challenge is a friendly ‘competition’ among cities across the globe to see which city can find and document the most wildlife over a four-day period. The City of Cape Town participated in the 2019 event and won the category for most species observed out of 159 cities that participated worldwide. For 2022, ten cities in South Africa are taking part in the City Nature Challenge, six of which fall within the Western Cape, viz Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Overstrand, Southern Overberg, West Coast and Garden Route.
For more information, please visit https://citynaturechallenge.org/
Cape Whale Coast Hope Spot
The Cape Whale Coast Hope Spot initiative, under the auspices of the Environmental Department of the Overstrand Municipality, is part of a global network of special marine management areas critical to the health of the oceans and our planet. There are close to 100 Hope Spots throughout the world which maintain biodiversity in these areas to preserve critical habitats and allow low-impact activities like ecotourism to thrive. This is good for the ocean, which means it is good for us. Dr Earle, through the ocean community hub Mission Blue, created the idea of Hope Spots in 2009 to ignite public support toward the marine environment and in 2014 declared the Overstrand Coastline as one of the 7 Hope Spots in South Africa.
