As you consider your year-end giving, please keep these cherished Island organizations in mind.
To: Bluedot Living
From: MVAtlas of Life
A community-based project to document the Vineyard’s biodiversity, the Martha’s Vineyard Atlas of Life (MVAL) launched a brand new website this past summer at mval.biodiversityworksmv.org. The site includes links for reporting wildlife sightings, listings of wildlife-related resources and events, and most importantly, a collection of checklists and brief essays presenting what is known about various groups of species on the Vineyard. The website will grow over time as more information becomes available, with the goal of being a one-stop resource for anyone interested in studying, appreciating, or conserving the unique biodiversity of Martha’s Vineyard.
Much of the momentum and information for the MVAL comes from its associated project in iNaturalist, a community science platform found at iNaturalist.org. The project, essentially a compilation of observations contributed to iNaturalist by users on Martha’s Vineyard, has grown rapidly in 2022 and currently contains about 21,500 records documenting more than 3,100 Island species. The iNaturalist platform, which operates worldwide, provides identification assistance to users and includes built-in tools for data analysis.
Begun in February 2021, the MVAL is a joint project of BiodiversityWorks and the Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation (BJFFF.org). You can support the MVAL effort by visiting its new website, by using iNaturalist, or by making a donation here.
See our story about the Atlas of Life project in the early stages, and an update here.
