Join Wildlife Biologist Nathaniel Sharp from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies for an educational tour through the Downtown Forest in Randolph, Vermont.

Nathaniel will begin the morning by introducing the citizen science tool iNaturalist, along with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies' many projects that use iNaturalist to collect data on wildlife throughout the state. Nathaniel will go into depth on the Vermont Atlas of Life: one of the VCE's largest projects, which has accumulated nearly 300,000 data points on wildlife throughout Vermont, and cataloged nearly 7,000 species.

We'll then head into the Downtown floodplain forest to learn about the local ecology in wintertime. Nathaniel will identify tracks in the (hopefully fresh) snow, and speak to the lives of the creatures that survive through our harsh winters. We'll discuss winter survival strategies, the phenomena of migration and how it influences global population distributions, and explore the range of species that call our downtown forest home!

Meet at the picnic area on Prince Street, down by the Valley Bowl parking lot before 8:30 to head over to the site of the starting presentation. We'll be trekking about 1.5 miles of snow-covered forest trails, so snow-proof boots (with grip) and warm layers of clothing are necessary. Water bottles and binoculars are recommended.

Download iNaturalist on your smartphone to start the morning prepared to participate in Citizen Science!

Message Ben@Racdc.com with any questions. We hope to see you there!