"Catch the King" Sets Guinness World Record for Largest Environmental Survey

In 2014, Wetlands Watch launched the Sea Level Rise smartphone mapping app with a bold vision: to crowdsource flooding information and empower communities to combat the challenges of sea-level rise. Little did we anticipate that five years later, the inaugural Catch the King event would earn a place in the Guinness World Records!

On November 5, 2017, Catch the King, along with our dedicated partners and volunteers, was awarded the Guinness World Record for the Largest Environmental Survey. As of 2024, we still hold this record.

We are grateful to everyone who made this possible. Concursive Corporation, under the leadership of Dave Richards, was instrumental in developing and maintaining the mapping app, ensuring the technology remained accessible and effective for all participants. Dave Mayfield, then a reporter with The Virginian-Pilot, envisioned the "Catch the King" initiative, and galvanized the community-wide effort. Dr. Derek Loftis from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science provided the scientific backbone of the project by utilizing the crowdsourced data to refine predictive flooding models, enhancing our ability to anticipate and respond to coastal flooding events. Meanwhile, Karen Jacklich, our dedicated organizer, orchestrated the efforts of hundreds of mappers; her leadership was crucial in coordinating volunteers and ensuring the seamless execution of the event.

This achievement exemplifies how collective action can address the pressing environmental issues facing our coastal regions, and we are immensely proud to have been part of this collaborative milestone. Looking forward, our goal is to expand this initiative by engaging more citizens in Virginia and sharing our technology and experiences with other coastal communities to foster a broader movement toward proactive environmental stewardship.

Join us as we continue to map, monitor, and make a difference—together, we can turn the tide on coastal flooding!