Biodiversity Ambassadors

Biodiversity Ambassadors

From March to June of 2025, The 300 Committee Land Trust will be hosting a new volunteer program called Biodiversity Ambassadors. This program was created by one of this year’s TerraCorps members, Grace Vachon.

What Does a Biodiversity Ambassador Do?

Biodiversity Ambassadors will use iNaturalist, a software program for identifying wildlife, to complete a series of monthly challenges at properties owned and managed by The 300 Committee. These challenges will entail locating and identifying different species of plants, animals, and fungi. Each one will be held at a specific property, and the challenge can only be completed at that property.

Participants can either complete the challenge on their own time and/or during our monthly meet ups. Our main goal for hosting this program is to engage the community and get people out on our trails. We are also hoping to learn more about biodiversity on our properties. After the completion of each challenge, Grace will write a species profile on a few of the organisms that were identified, so stay tuned!

Monthly Meetups

Twice a month on Mondays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Grace will host program meet ups. These meet ups will provide an opportunity for program participants to get together with one another and 300 Committee staff to work on the monthly challenge. Staff will be available to answer any questions about iNaturalist or the program. If you are interested in attending any of the meet ups, please use the link below to sign up.  Meet Ups will be canceled in the event of rain or if no one signs up. Parking information for each meet up is given in the challenge descriptions at the bottom of the page.

Sign up to attend the monthly meetups

iNaturalist Training

On April 1st from 1:00 3:00 p.m., Grace will host an in-person iNaturalist training for those who may be new to the software. Part of the training will involve hands-on practice with the app outside, so please bring your phone and have iNaturalist downloaded on it. The first portion of the training will be held at the 300 Committee headquarters, located at 13 Thomas B Landers Road. Weather permitting, the group will then travel to a nearby conservation land to practice using the app. Registration is encouraged. Email Grace to register at [email protected].

Important Dates

May 1: May monthly challenge opens (Birds)

May 12 and 25: 5th and 6th Monthly Meet Ups at Mares Pond Reservation 

June 1: June monthly challenge opens (Plants)

June 8: 7th Monthly Meet Up at Beebe Woods Hiker's Lot (By the Highfield Theater)

June 16: 8th Monthly Meet Up at Peterson Farm 

How Do I Get Involved With the Program?

  • Download iNaturalist on your mobile device.
  • Create an iNaturalist account if you don’t have one already. Please note that you will need a valid email address to create an iNaturalist account.
  • Email Grace your iNaturalist username so we know who is who. In your email, please include your full name, your username on iNaturalist, your intent to participate, and if it is okay for us to post any images you take to the website. Please send to [email protected]. Please do this even if you already have an iNaturalist account.
  • Read the user guide (linked below).
  • Join the umbrella project page on iNaturalist. Please join this project before joining any of the individual challenges.
  • Scroll down on the umbrella project page to access and join the monthly challenges.
  • Use iNaturalist to complete each challenge at the specified property. Please complete the challenge between the first and last day of the month.
  • Optional – attend the monthly meetups (see dates and locations below)
  • Optional – attend the in-person iNaturalist training on April 1st
salamander

Challenge Descriptions

May

Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler (Photo by Mike Tucker)

This Challenge is Currently Open!

Theme: May’s theme is birds. Your challenge is to locate and identify at least 3 unique bird species at Mares Pond Reservation. For this challenge, you are welcome to upload sound files in place of pictures.

Property Access Information: This challenge will take place at Mares Pond Reservation. The property can be accessed via a small parking area off of Pinecrest Beach Drive. There is no signage except for a wooden red heart marking the parking area.

Monthly Meet Up: For both Monthly Meet Ups on May 12th and May 25th, we will meet in the parking area off of Pinecrest Beach Drive.

June

fern
Photo by Jaakko Kemppainen, Unsplash

This Challenge Opens on June 1st!

Theme: The theme for June is plants. Your challenge is to locate and identify the following:

  • 1 Tree
  • 1 Vine
  • 1 Fern
  • 1 Shrub
  • 1 Grass

Try to have at least 1 of these be an invasive species

Property Access Information:This challenge will take place within Beebe Woods, Peterson Farm, and Kelly Woodland. There are several points of access into Beebe Woods across town, including a parking area at the end of Ter Huen Drive and at 56 Highfield Drive. Beebe Woods can also be accessed via Peterson Farm and Kelly Woodlands, two abutting parcels. Use this Google Maps link to navigate to Peterson Farm. Use this Google Maps link to navigate to Kelly Woodland.

Monthly Meet Ups: For Monday, June 8th, please meet at the parking area located at 56 Highfield Drive. For Sunday, June 16th, please meet at Peterson Farm.

Species Profiles

April: Creepy Crawlies

During the month of April we collected 50 observations and identified 36 species of creepy crawlies! Thank you to everyone who participated!

One particularly interesting species observed this month was the twelve-spotted tiger beetle. Twelve-spotted tiger beetles are about 12-15 millimeters long and dark brown in color. They get their name from the twelve spots on their bodies, and prefer habitats with sandy soils near wetland areas. They are listed as threatened in Massachusetts due to threats such as flooding, stream bank erosion, insecticides, invasive plant species, off-road vehicles, and water pollution.

You can read more about twelve-spotted tiger beetles and their conservation status here: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/twelve-spotted-tiger-beetle

March: Fungi, Lichen, and Moss

During the month of March we collected 64 observations and identified 28 species of fungi, lichen, and moss! Thank you to everyone who participated!

This species profile will focus lichen. What is a lichen? Although some lichen may look like plants, they are actually a composite of two organisms, usually a fungus and an algae or cyanobacteria. The partnership between the fungus and other organism is symbiotic, meaning that they both benefit from it. Some common species that you are likely to see on the Cape include Bushy Beard Lichen and Common Greenshield Lichen.

 

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