Mahasarakham University and IRD joined forces on City Nature Challenge 2024

On April 30, the Mahasarakham University Students' Naturalist Club, the Walai Rukhavej Botanical Research Institute and IRD demonstrated a biodiversity inventory using the iNaturalist app along the Chi River. This was followed by a conference on the opportunities of participatory science in the field of biodiversity, led by Dr. Rachanee Nammatra and Prapasiri Warapeang at Mahasarakham University, and a training session by IRD researcher Julien Claude on statistical methods linked to the geography of biodiversity, attended by around ten people.

The following day, the Mahasarakham University Students' Naturalist Club and IRD researchers led an introductory ornithology trip for around 30 people from a wide range of backgrounds: children, adults, the elderly, science experts and simple nature lovers.

What is the City Nature Challenge?

Initiated by Lila Higgins, of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM), and Alison Young and Rebecca Johnson, of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS), the City Nature Challenge is an international initiative aimed at identifying and cataloguing wild plants and animals in cities around the world. In this Bioblitz ^?A bioblitz is a communal effort to record as many species within a designated location and time period as possible. -style competition, cities from around the world compete against each other to see who can make the most observations, discover the most species and mobilize the most people.

Find out more

• Mahasarakham University Students' Naturalist Club:  ชมรมดูนกมหาสารคาม-Ms Birding Club
• City Nature Challenge: https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/