This week in 'things that rocked' : #IAmANaturalist.

In a move that warms the cockles of my nerd heart, hundreds of scientists, educators and nature lovers took to Twitter on Monday to show the world what being a naturalist is all about. The hashtag was inspired by a blog post from the Ecological Society of America that urged Twitter users to assert their 'naturalist identity' with pride by sharing their stories on social media (of course I had to chime in with some of my Earth Touch adventures).  


"Our hope is to start a wildfire of support for the value of natural history and the people who spend their days (or nights) practising natural history," writes biologist Kirsten Rowell. "We hope that this engagement starts some conversations around the importance of natural history in ecology and that it provokes a trend of closeted naturalists to proudly present their passion for natural history to the world!"

Within hours, the photos, videos, stories and questions came pouring in, taking the event from a fun concept to a worldwide celebration of the natural world, knowledge and discovery.

"It is important to stop moving," says ecologist Nash Turley, who participated in the event. "Listen. Look. Smell. Touch. Taste. Tuning your senses to a natural environment always results in interesting discoveries." 

From photos of self-proclaimed 'poop-picker-uppers' to scientists' stories from the field, the contributions beautifully illustrate that wildlife touches us in unique ways, and that passion for the natural world spans ages, genders, backgrounds and borders.

Take a look at some of the awesome responses by scrolling through the Storify below!