In South Florida, we are fortunate to live in an area vastly rich in wildlife! We would like you to join us to get to know each species better!

This Backyard Wildlife initiative is an on-line forum in which families participate in a fun game of identifying the little and big critters we all run into on our backyards/neighborhoods day to day. The idea is to use this playful exchange to “enhance” and “sharpen” our appreciation of the animals that surround us; and while we are having fun at it we also:

• Develop the ability to describe the features of the species we encounter

• Strengthen our connection with the natural world so we can care better for it

• Revisit and apply the geographic concepts of location (latitude, longitude, altitude) – geotagging.

• Generate data (population, geographic distribution, behavior, migration) that can be used for parents/educators and scientists on their conservation projects.

The more we know about something, the more we enjoy it.

We will have experts mediate the discussions and help us ID each creature!

How do we start?

If you are interested in participating, this is what you have to do:

1. Create an account in the site ( here )
2. Go to the Wildlife repository (here)
3. Go to the category of the Wildlife you found and upload your picture directly from your computer, along with a title and a description. Place the geotagging coordinates in the description so we can update it
4. Start the online discussion about the image in the Wildlife Forum (here).