Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) will host a free talk on a network of motion-activated trail cameras tracking wildlife across Philadelphia, including in Wissahickon Valley Park.

The event takes place Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Valley Green Inn, with a Zoom option for those who prefer to join from home. Registration is required at FOW.org.

Julie Carol Ellis, a wildlife ecologist and associate director of One Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, will introduce the Accessing Urban Nature Initiative (AUNI), a Penn Vet project she leads. The program uses trail cameras stationed at green spaces across the city to document which species live where and how urban development, ground cover and heat affect their behavior.

The project currently operates 20 cameras spaced at least one kilometer apart, according to Penn Vet. Each camera captures images for one month per season. The goal is to expand to 35 cameras citywide. Wissahickon Valley Park is among the newer locations added to the network, along with Cobbs Creek, Laurel Hill Cemetery and Fairmount Park.

So far, the cameras have captured images of red foxes, coyotes, a great blue heron, opossums, raccoons, deer, skunks and flying squirrels. Some photos have also flagged health concerns, including foxes with mange and a deer with ticks embedded in its coat.

"What we're doing is building a citywide picture of urban wildlife in Philadelphia through trail cameras," Ellis said in a Penn Vet report published in June. "We want to know who's here, where are they, what are they doing, and what that means for the people in neighborhoods who live alongside them."

AUNI is part of the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN), a global alliance of scientists and wildlife managers that originated at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. The team has also begun an acoustic monitoring program with Penn Vet's Wildlife Futures Program to track bird diversity in the city's green spaces.

The Nov. 11 session is the second FOW Valley Talk of the fall season, first reported by the Times Herald. The first talk, on Oct. 21, featured forager Tama Matsuoka Wong speaking about invasive-plant foraging in Pennsylvania. Univest Financial is the presenting sponsor.

Residents can register for the Nov. 11 talk at FOW.org.