Citizen scientists document border biodiversity

Volunteer naturalists have been tracing both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border documenting the plants and wildlife they find. It’s part of a BioBilitz on the iNaturalist citizen science app to document the biodiversity of the border region in May.

“There’s a fabulous amount of biodiversity here that’s traditionally been overlooked,” Sula Vanderplank, of the binational program Baja Rare, told the Associated Press.

The BioBlitz is part of an effort to document the species in the region in response to the construction of the border wall.

“I never would have thought that there would be so much biodiversity on the border,” said Jocelyn Reyes, a student of Fernandez at La Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. “It’s so interesting and makes you realize there’s so much worth saving.”

Read more from the Associated Press.