The Library will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31, 2024 in observance of New Year's Eve
and will be closed on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, in observance of New Year’s Day.

LA BioBlitz Challenge

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LA BioBlitz Challenge

Join the fourth annual LA BioBlitz Challenge October 1-31 to photograph and map wild animals, insects and plants found in your neighborhood, local parks, off of hiking trails, and in other natural areas.

Los Angeles is located in a global biodiversity hot spot and has an incredible array of native animals, plants and ecosystems to explore. We need your help to better protect and understand where different species of plants and animals live across the City. Each time you upload an observation to iNaturalist, especially in observation cold spots on the map, you contribute to the knowledge about the City’s biodiversity that supports protecting and conserving local wildlife and their habitats.

The LA BioBlitz Challenge is an exciting collaboration between the Los Angeles Public Library’s Neighborhood Science Initiative, L.A. Sanitation and Environment’s Biodiversity Program, L.A. Recreation & Parks, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and L.A. Department of Water and Power.

Get Started

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Download the iNaturalist app from Google Play or the App Store and create an account.

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Get outside! Observe the wildlife around you. Check the indicator and and invasive species cards and challenge yourself to observe three or more of these species in the wild.

Explore observation cold spots near you and log observations in these areas to help researchers understand which species live there.

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Upload your observations to the LA BioBlitz Challenge 2024 project.

Watch the video to learn how to record your first observation.


Questions? Read the FAQ

 





Bare black walnut trees with hanging nuts in a field in California.

Elephant Hill Community Nature Celebration and Habitat Survey

The Los Angeles Public Library is excited to join the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, along with the community, naturalists, local organizations, and natural science researchers at a nature hub and on guided nature walks to find and photograph wildlife using the iNaturalist app! Help protect Elephant Hill by participating in the Elephant Hill project.


Suggested Reading

  • Biodiversity

    Biodiversity

  • Biodiversity and Climate Change: Transforming the Biosphere

    Biodiversity and Climate Change: Transforming the Biosphere

  • Birds of the Los Angeles Region

    Birds of the Los Angeles Region

    Garrett, Kimball
  • Butterflies Belong Here

    Butterflies Belong Here

    Hopkinson, Deborah
  • Cactus Hotel

    Cactus Hotel

    Guiberson, Brenda Z.
  • Cheetahs: Biology and Conservation

    Cheetahs: Biology and Conservation

  • Climate Emergency Atlas

    Climate Emergency Atlas

    Hooke, Dan
  • Complexity: The Evolution of Earth's Biodiversity and the Future of Humanity

    Complexity: The Evolution of Earth's Biodiversity and the Future of Humanity

    Burger, William C.
  • Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaptation

    Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaptation

    Hilty, Jodi A
  • Cougar Crossing: How Hollywood's Celebrity Cougar Helped Build a Bridge for City Wildlife

    Cougar Crossing: How Hollywood's Celebrity Cougar Helped Build a Bridge for City Wildlife

    Pincus, Meeg
  • Discovering Griffith Park: A Local's Guide

    Discovering Griffith Park: A Local's Guide

    Schreiner, Casey
  • Don't Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe

    Don't Let Them Disappear: 12 Endangered Species Across the Globe

    Clinton, Chelsea
  • Ecology Crafts for Kids: 50 Great Ways to Make Friends With Planet Earth

    Ecology Crafts for Kids: 50 Great Ways to Make Friends With Planet Earth

    Needham, Bobbe
  • Extinct: An Illustrated Exploration of Animals That Have Disappeared

    Extinct: An Illustrated Exploration of Animals That Have Disappeared

    Riera, Lucas
  • Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life

    Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life

    Wilson, Edward O
  • Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth

    Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth

    Jeffers, Oliver
  • Hike

    Hike

    Oswald, Pete
  • Insects of the Los Angeles Basin

    Insects of the Los Angeles Basin

    Hogue, Charles Leonard
  • Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth

    Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth

    Davies, Nicola
  • Mason Bee Revolution

    Mason Bee Revolution

    Hunter, Dave
  • Messages From Islands: A Global Biodiversity Tour

    Messages From Islands: A Global Biodiversity Tour

    Hanski, Ilkka
  • One Planet: A Celebration of Biodiversity

    One Planet: A Celebration of Biodiversity

    Hulot, Nicolas
  • Our Native Bees: North America's Endangered Pollinators

    Our Native Bees: North America's Endangered Pollinators

    Embry, Paige
  • Planet Ark: Preserving Earth's Biodiversity

    Planet Ark: Preserving Earth's Biodiversity

    Mason, Adrienne
  • Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault

    Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault

    Fowler, Cary
  • Shark Quest: Protecting the Ocean's Top Predators

    Shark Quest: Protecting the Ocean's Top Predators

    Young, Karen Romano
  • Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity

    Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity

  • The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome

    The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World's Largest Land Biome

    Carmichael, L. E.
  • The Ecology Book

    The Ecology Book

  • The Monarch Butterfly: Biology & Conservation

    The Monarch Butterfly: Biology & Conservation

  • The Monarchs are Missing: A Butterfly Mystery

    The Monarchs are Missing: A Butterfly Mystery

    Hirsch, Rebecca E.
  • The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and its Ecosystems

    The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and its Ecosystems

    Ignotofsky, Rachel
  • Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth

    Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth

    Strauss, Rochelle
  • Who Needs a Swamp?: A Wetland Ecosystem

    Who Needs a Swamp?: A Wetland Ecosystem

    Patkau, Karen
  • Wild LA: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles

    Wild LA: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles

    Higgins, Lila M.
  • World Without Fish: How Could We Let This Happen?

    World Without Fish: How Could We Let This Happen?

    Kurlansky, Mark

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