It’s time to take a moment to slow down and enjoy the Nature around us! From April 28th – May 1st, consider participating in the global City Nature Challenge. The goal is to find and document wildlife and plants in your city, learn about new species, and enjoy the beauty and benefits they offer while you’re at it.
How It Started
The City Nature Challenge (CNC) began in 2016 as a competition between Los Angeles and San Fransisco. Organized by the Community Science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the CNC has evolved into an international event.
What It’s About
It’s a friendly competition, one where we all win. Snapping and sharing just one photo of an animal or plant impacts our understanding of biodiversity and coexistence with Nature. Together, we can learn how to treat local wildlife with love and care so they can thrive alongside us.
As a bonus, the hope is that we’ll incorporate wildlife and garden observation into our daily routines moving forward, which is awesome and proven to boost mental and physical health.
Entire cities and individuals alike can participate; this is what you have to do:
- Find plants and animals in your city (WILD, not cared for by humans).
- Take some pictures or record some sounds and take note of the location.
- Share your observations through iNaturalist.
Pretty easy! In 2022, nearly 1.7 million observations of more than 50,000 species were made. So let’s try to beat it this year! Check out the CNC website if you’d like to participate or see if your city has enrolled.
Get Going
Remember, this isn’t a photography contest! So don’t sweat it or strive for perfection; the goal is to share your sightings and observations with people worldwide, learning a thing or two along the way.
So grab your binoculars, a camera, and maybe even some SPF, and enjoy the critters and plants bringing life to your city!