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Calling All Citizen Scientists, It's SnailBlitz 2023 And Researchers Need Your Help
Common Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum) photographed in 2018 by Matt Kowal in the Palms neighborhood of L.A.
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Courtesy SnailBlitz/NHM
)
Researchers want your help in finding some of L.A.'s more elusive residents — snails.
Why it matters
It turns out that terrestrial gastropods — also known as snails and slugs — are pretty good indicators of how of well nature is surviving in our urban landscape.
As Sam Tayag of the L.A. County Natural History Museum told us: "Snails and slugs evolve so quickly and respond so quickly as well to habitat changes, they give us a lot of clues early on."
Why now
It's Snail Blitz 2023! The two-month event enlists citizen scientists to help researchers document snails and slugs in Southern California. It started Feb. 1 and lasts through March.
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The push is part of the year-round SLIME (Snails and slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments) community project. (And yes, they do have a way with acronyms and puns.)
How to participate
When you spot a snail or slug, snap a photo and note the date time and place. Upload your photos through iNaturalist, email them to the museum (SLIME@nhm.org) or post to Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #SnailBlitz2023.
Where to look
Tayag recommends looking in the evening under leaf piles, fallen branches or potted plants.
"Lift up those pots and you'll probably find a couple slimy buddies under there," Tayag said.
More details
Read all about the project and get additional details on where to find "snail it" — their words, not ours — near you at SnailBlitz2023.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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