This past weekend, Pare’s Sustainability Committee hosted two BioBlitz events in Foxborough as part of the Boston Area City Nature Challenge (CNC). It was a great opportunity to get outside and explore biodiversity in a town that Pare calls home! The events were open to Pare staff, family and friends, and to the public.
Exploring the Canoe River Wilderness
The CNC is an annual international competition to see which metropolitan area can photograph and document the most species in one weekend using this iNaturalist app.
Screenshot of iNaturalist City Nature Challenge 2018 App
None of us had used iNaturalist prior to the CNC; however it is safe to say we are hooked. Not only does it let you record your observations, but it also assists in species identification using photo recognition and input from the iNaturalist community! We highly recommend it for nature lovers of all experience levels.
Screenshot from the iNaturalist app. Check out our observations!
The Foxborough Conservation Commission has an excellent “Guide to Conservation Land & Open Spaces” which we used as a resource to plan out our BioBlitz destinations.
On Saturday we explored the Canoe River Wilderness, an expanse of diverse conservation land that extends into several neighboring towns. We followed the trail around Greeley’s Pond on East Street, where we explored forested uplands, wetlands, and riverine habitats bordering the pond.
Capturing some plant observations by the Canoe River
We veered off the trail to explore a vernal pool. we found spotted salamander egg masses and a newly hatched wood frog tadpole.
Discovering vernal pool wildlife in the Canoe River Wilderness
On Sunday, we visited the site of the Lincoln Hill Camp on Oak Street, a former children’s camp which is now protected as a conservation area. Remnants of the past were found throughout the property, making it a very intriguing site to explore.
After exploring the ruins of the camp, we found a trail down through the woods to a certified vernal pool on the property. There was an abundance of species to be found here, from salamander egg masses to fairy shrimp!
Spotted Salamander egg mass found in the vernal pool
Next, we wandered down toward the Rumford River, where we found a variety of different environments including a beautiful Atlantic White Cedar swamp.
Our team of observers contributed 117 observations to the challenge throughout the weekend. I am proud to say that the Boston area ranked consistently high in the CNC competition! Of the 69 participating regions, we had the 10th highest number of observations, the 13th highest number of species, and the 3rd highest number of people participating in the challenge! Not bad when you consider that the growing season has just begun here in Massachusetts.
Thank you to those who participated, and we encourage everyone to give the iNaturalist app a try during your next walk in the woods.
