LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — For the first time, Lake County has its own entry in the worldwide “City Nature Challenge” — a four-day event which encourages “citizen scientists” to use their phones or cameras to submit observations of all forms of life to further develop the inaturalist.org catalog of the world's life forms.

Between Friday April 25 and Monday April 28, observations submitted to inaturalist.org will be logged into Lake County's project as part of this competition.

Anyone can participate with the inaturalist app or at the inaturalist.org web site.

People can observe on their own, or can take part in two special events, called "bioblitzes" where a group explores an area with some guidance.

The events take place at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 27, at the Lake County Land Trust's Rodman Preserve at 6350 Westlake Road, Lakeport; and Monday, April 28, at 9 a.m. at the McLaughlin Preserve, 26775 Morgan Valley Road, east of Lower Lake.

In 2016, organizers from the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History and the California Academy of Sciences started the City Nature Challenge with the metropolitan areas of San Francisco bay and Los Angeles engaging in a friendly competition to document as many forms of life as their citizen scientists could.

By 2024, the annual event had grown to include 690 competing geographic areas, with over two million observations of over 65,000 species and over 83,000 participants.

The Lake County Project and more information is at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2025-lake-county-california.