News & Events

Kespukwitk (Southwest Nova Scotia) iNaturalist Competition

This year, thanks to the support of the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, we are launching our biggest Kespukwitk (Southwest Nova Scotia) iNaturalist Competition ever! Over the next year, we will be hosting 4 seasonal, 2-week-long Kespukwitk Municipal iNaturalist Competitions. These are fierce but friendly competitions between the municipalities of Annapolis, Digby, Clare, Yarmouth, Argyle, Barrington, Shelburne, Lunenburg and Queens to see who can collect the most wildlife observations with the free iNaturalist app. To join, all you must do is log onto iNaturalist and take observations in Kespukwitk during the 2 weeklong competitions.

Our competitions will run:  

Spring: May 15 - 28 

Summer: July 17 - 30 

Autumn: Sept. 11 - 24  

Winter: Feb. 12 - 25 

During each competition, we will host guided nature walks around the region to get you out and inspired by the biodiversity around us! We will also have prize draws of wildlife guides, cards, swag and outdoor gear to help you on your next adventure. 

iNaturalist is a free app that allows anyone to ID wildlife, and it uses that data to support conservation projects and wildlife research. One such project at MTRI is our Herp Atlas, a project dedicated to better understanding reptiles and amphibians in Nova Scotia.

Stay up to date by following our competition on iNaturalist: https://inaturalist.ca/projects/fourth-annual-spring-kespukwitk-municipal-inaturalist-competition  

Workshops

Throughout the year we host a series on a variety of topics, including Non-Timber Forest Products, Medicinal Plants, Soils, Edible Mushrooms, Woodlot Demos, and Photography to name a few

Visit @merseytobeatic on Facebook and Instagram to see what you can learn at MTRI this year!