City Nature Challenge 2023: Thompson Island
Join the National Park Service and Thompson Island Outward Bound to discover and document biodiversity on Thompson Island!
Join us for the 2023 City Nature Challenge and help document biodiversity in the park and region. We will explore the local flora and fauna on Thompson Island and photo-document all we find. The City Nature Challenge is a collaboration and friendly competition among cities all over the world to connect us to the nature that is all around us- from the weeds growing in sidewalk cracks, to the birds soaring over buildings, to the fungi growing on street trees, and all the critters of the local parks. We will make observations of nature, document as many species as we can, and engage YOU in helping us do it! Last year 445 cities across the world participated in the event, observing over 50 thousand species!
To gather data, we will the using the phone (and web) application iNaturalist. Download iNaturalist to your smartphone and establish an iNaturalist account before you arrive so you will be all set to contribute to the City Nature Challenge. We will have tutorials on how to use the app throughout the day. Alternatively, you can consider bringing your own camera to take pictures in the field and then upload them to the iNaturalist website when you return to your home computer! Consider joining the 2023 City Nature Challenge: Boston Area project on iNaturalist to follow along with our progress throughout the weekend!
Travel: All attendees must register through this event to join us.
Boat departure: 9:00 am from EDIC Ferry Terminal. The boat leaves at 9 and will not wait, so please arrive by 8:40 am at the latest for check in.
Directions: Participants will meet at EDIC Ferry Terminal in Boston’s Seaport District. This location is notoriously difficult to find, so please give yourself 15 minutes more than you’d expect if this is your first time coming to this dock. There are a variety of parking and public transit options nearby. For more information and maps, please visit Visit | Thompson Island Outward Bound.
Island departure: The boat will depart from the Thomson Island dock at 2:30 pm. Please be ready and waiting on the dock by 2:20. We will return to the mainland dock by 3 pm.
On the Day
What to wear: Whatever feels comfortable and weather appropriate. It might be rainy, so bring raingear. We recommend comfortable shoes since we’ll be walking around the island. Conditions can be unpredictable so please monitor the weather in the days leading up the event and dress appropriately.
What to bring: Please bring a field lunch and snacks as we will be on the island for most of the day. There is no refrigeration or microwave available onsite. Bring a reusable water bottle, there are refill stations on the island. Sunscreen and a hat are always recommended, and extra warm layers are always a good idea in April. Don’t forget to bring your smartphone with iNaturalist downloaded. If you would like, you could also bring a camera to take pictures on island for home uploading (just don’t forget to upload when you get home! 😊)
Please note this program is part of Thompson Island Outward Bound Escorted Public Access.
Please also consider joining NPS and Boston Urban Wilds for the Condor Street City Nature Challenge April 30th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm to continue the fun! (more information at bostonharborislands.org/calendar
For more information about the City Nature Challenge, check out: zoonewengland.org/citynaturechallenge.
For more information about the Boston Harbor Islands, please visit bostonharborislands.org.
For more information about Thompson Island Outward Bound, please visit thompsonisland.org.
For questions, please contact Rachel Vincent at: rachel_vincent@nps.gov