Citizen Science
Help build our community's knowledge of nature as you explore. These resources help document your findings and share observations with fellow naturalists, scientists, and conservation efforts.
iNaturalist
iNaturalist enables you to document your observations of the natural world, identify finds with the help of a worldwide community of naturalists, and contribute to biodiversity science. Sign up today and start observing.
The City Nature Challenge is an urban, competitive, international bio blitz. Philadelphia will compete for a sixth year in 2021 from April 26 to April 29. As we compete, we deepen our knowledge of Philly's biodiversity and connect more of us to nature.
PARS is a citizen science project seeking to document herpetological biodiversity in Pennsylvania. You can sign up with PARS to contribute or add observations to the PARS project on iNaturalist.
Bring Nature Home
Help make your home safer and more welcoming for native wildlife.
Garden for Wildlife
Ensure your home or community garden is a suitable habitat for wildlife. There are several wildlife certification programs out there, as well as programs at our local nature centers and arboretums. Still, you can start with the resources from the Penn State Extension and, of course, check out A Child's Inspiration: Wildlife Discovery Garden and Ecostead.
Prevent Bird Window Collisions
About 600 million North American birds die from smacking into windows yearly, most of which are residential windows. The American Bird Conservancy has many resources about making your windows safer for birds. Also, check out Bird Safe Philly, which works to make Philly buildings safer for birds.
Keep Cats Inside
House cats kill over a billion birds and even more reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals yearly. You can make a difference by keeping your cat inside or on a leash outside. Also, be sure not to feed stray cats. Learn more from the American Bird Conservancy.
Manage Rodents without Poisons
Commonly used rodenticides, particularly chemicals that cause internal bleeding (anticoagulants), also kill wildlife. Birds of prey, foxes, coyotes, and other predators can eat rodents that eat poison bait. Those predators are then poisoned by the chemicals in their rodent prey. If you need to control rodent populations, ensure you and any contractors you hire avoid these rodenticides. Learn more at the Safe Rodent Control Resource Center.