The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is an annual international challenge to see which city can record and upload the most observations of wildlife species using the free iNaturalist platform. From the tiniest bug to the tallest tree, simply take pictures of all the flora and fauna you can find. Even just one photo will count! You’ll be contributing to an international database used to track biodiversity around the world. It’s a great way to turn a simple walk in the woods into truly impactful "citizen science” activity.
This year 40 Canadian cities are working together to compete against hundreds of cities in over 40 countries. It’s a fun, family-friendly way to contribute to science while contributing to Canada’s observation totals. Check out the CityNatureCanada 2022 project, look for your city and join the project. Your observations will instantly be added. If your city isn’t participating, you can still make observations.
Starting in 2016 as a competition between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the CNC has grown into an international event, motivating people around the world to find and document wildlife in their cities. Run by the Community Science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the CNC is an annual four-day global bioblitz at the end of April, where cities are in a collaboration-meets-friendly-competition to see not only what can be accomplished when we all work toward a common goal, but also which city can gather the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people in the event.
Go to iNaturalist.ca to register your free iNaturalist account.
