What if your next walk outside could help scientists, support conservation, and earn you a badge worthy of bragging rights? Good news! It CAN. The 2026 NC Bioblitz, part of the global City Nature Challenge, is returning April 24–27, and everyone in North Carolina is invited to join the biggest community-powered wildlife discovery party of…
You are about the enjoy the final blog post in Sara Gagné’s Urban Ecology Nature Neighborhood Series for 2025, and I want you to know up front that this is probably my favorite post that she has done for us. While there are many different types of scientists, I think most people expect all scientists…
When my family was camping in Tennessee a few years back the forests surrounding our campsite were packed full of some of the most beautiful mushrooms I have ever seen. In terms only a scientist could love – it was a decomposers’ paradise. 🙂 I am not a fungi expert, but adore the variety of…
I have just had one of those incredibly satisfying moments where I learned about a new resource (new to me!) with the potential to change the way I work with science data and interact with nature. That’s a pretty big statement. We all live and work in a world that is rapidly changing. Sometimes that’s…
I just love it when a special science week comes around and we can all focus on learning about something new: new organisms, new habitats, new science concepts. We are coming up on National Moth Week, which incorporates a global citizen science movement to help spot and identify moth species all around the world. If…
Most people view vultures as pests. They seem dirty to us. We see them eating roadkill and circling in the skies over some unknown carcass hiding in the woods. But, as if often the case with our first impressions of wildlife and nature, what you see is not always what you get. Think about it…
We talk about Citizen Science pretty frequently on the NC Science Trail. We highlight important Citizen Science Events, we mark our partners information pages with their Citizen Science endeavors, and we even have a big button on the front page that says, “Be A Scientist.” You haven’t hit that button?? Well, please go ahead and…
Last summer we were so lucky to have Sara Gagné, an urban ecologist from UNC Charlotte, share several great blog posts about exciting ways to explore the nature in your neighborhood during summer. This year, Sara is back to help us do more summer exploring with our Summer 2025 Blog Series: Explore Your Nature Neighborhood.…
In the early days of the NC Science Trail, even before the official 2023 launch, we said there needed to be a Citizen Science component to our work. Citizen Science is, in my opinion, a true spark of genius because it gets the public involved in scientific research. And when this was a completely new…
Nature is everywhere—from city sidewalks to mountain trails—and it’s time to discover it! Join the NC BioBlitz, part of the City Nature Challenge, happening April 25–28 during the NC Science Festival. This fun, statewide event invites everyone—scientists, students, families, and curious explorers—to document wildlife using the free iNaturalist app. A BioBlitz is a community-powered effort…