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This 'global bioblitz' challenges you to document as much wildlife as you can in 4 days

Nēnē are the state birds of Hawaiʻi. The literal translation of the word Nēnē in ʻŌlelo Hawaii means “to chirp, as a cricket; to croak, or whimpering as a sleeping infant.”
Ann Tanimoto-Johnson
Nēnē are the state birds of Hawaiʻi. The literal translation of the word Nēnē in ʻŌlelo Hawaii means “to chirp, as a cricket; to croak, or whimpering as a sleeping infant.”

Calling all residents of Hawaiʻi's concrete jungles, there's a challenge for you. The City Nature Challenge, to be exact. It started six years ago as a friendly competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Now it's a “global bioblitz” with close to 250 cities participating worldwide. The event starts Friday, April 29.

Participants need to download the iNaturalist app on their phones, and then they have four days to photograph as many different species of plants and animals in their cities as they can. The Conversation spoke with John Starmer, the volunteer coordinator for City Nature Challenge on Maui, about how folks in Hawaiʻi can participate — and more importantly, how we can win!

Click here for the Maui team and click here for the Oʻahu team. This interview aired on The Conversation on April 26, 2022. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.

Savannah Harriman-Pote is the energy and climate change reporter. She is also the lead producer of HPR's "This Is Our Hawaiʻi" podcast. Contact her at sharrimanpote@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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