You are invited....

Citizen Science and the benefits of iNaturalist with Shaun Martin and Robert Ferguson An in-person (Covid-19 rules then prevailing will be observed) Currently a maximum of 20 people and virtual Green Drinks meeting (thanks to The Purpose Business for providing the Zoom platform) on Wed 14 Apr at Cafe 8(top floor on the Maritime Museum at Central Ferry Pier 8)www.facebook.com/hkcafe8 Networking starts at 6:30 and discussion plus live streaming from 7:00pm While entry is free please buy drinks and food, in additionplease donate at least $100 per person to The Nesbitt Centre. Join the event on Zoom via https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85736986135?pwd=ZEhoazE0U2REdGpPTjZ6UHFFRUl6QT09 Meeting ID: 857 3698 6135 Passcode: 678242 Many of you may be using iNaturalist already (www.iNaturalist.org) as a great App to upload nature photos and have the plant, animal etc identified. Have you ever wondered how the data can be used or did you have questions on how to use the website version? Well our 2 speakers have both used the platform in different ways and they will share their thoughts on how we can through citizen science help biodiversity here in HK and globally. So come along to learn and also ask questions on how you can make better use of iNaturalist. You might have heard of City Nature Challenge, the annual international effort for anyone to find and record wildlife in cities across the globe and share it via the iNaturalist app. Hong Kong was among the top 3 of 244 cities that participated in last year’s City Nature Challenge. An amazing 3,007 species were recorded in 4 days! In this talk our speaker Shaun Martin, we will discuss the City Nature Challenge, iNaturalist, how smartphone technology can help monitor biodiversity and how the public can get involved. Shaun has been Head of Community Education for WWF-Hong Kong since 2019. Since graduating from the University of Hong Kong with a Master of Science in Environmental Management, he has been working with various local environmental NGOs on education projects from curriculum development to custom advisory assignments. A former National Geographic ‘Explorer’, he has been leading Hong Kong’s City Nature Challenge effort since 2018 and currently oversees the One Planet Youth programme. Robert Ferguson will complement Shaun Martin’s talk with a brief overview of how he uses iNaturalist in the field, for his work, and setting some data points - by setting up a bioblitz - around the biodiversity and species numbers in the Lions Nature Education Centre in Sai Kung. Robert is an award winning photographer, blogger and conservationist with images and articles appearing in international and local magazines, books, and online media. Recent publications include - Wildcreatures in Hong Kong vol I (volume II due out end April); - The guide to nature guides in Hong Kong; - Co-producer of the recently published: The Field Guide to Hong Kong Snakes. He currently runs his own daily wildlife blog at www.wildcreatureshongkong.org and works on content and wildlife photography with different local conservation groups. Robert has lived with his family in Hong Kong for the last 25 years, working in Media, as GM for Advanstar and then Ringier in Asia, and most recently for The Economist and Reuters. He left full time employment in mid 2018 and now volunteers part time with a foodbank NGO, FeedingHK. See you on Wed 14 Apr, in person if you are one of the first 20 people arrive at Cafe 8 else online via Zoom.