🌍 Join the City Nature Challenge 2025 – A Global Bioblitz in Your Backyard!
Have you heard about the City Nature Challenge (CNC)? It’s one of the largest community science events in the world, and it's coming up soon — April 25–28, 2025! This global bioblitz is your chance to get outside, observe nature, and help document biodiversity right here in Vancouver, WA (or wherever you are!).
Whether you’re spotting bees on native flowers, fungi in the forest, or birds in your neighborhood park, your observations help scientists, conservationists, and nature lovers better understand and protect the natural world.
📸 What is the City Nature Challenge?
Started as a friendly competition between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the CNC has grown into a massive global event, celebrating its 10th year in 2025. Last year, more than 83,000 people across 650+ cities participated by submitting over 1.8 million observations!
The goal? To connect people with nature, collect data on local wildlife and plants, and inspire a love for the natural world in every city and neighborhood.
🗓️ Key Dates for CNC 2025:
April 25–28: Make and upload observations of wild plants, animals, insects, fungi—anything you find in nature!
April 29–May 4: Continue uploading your photos and help identify observations made by others.
May 5: Results announced!
🌿 How to Participate:
You have three easy ways to join the challenge:
Participate Locally: If you're in Vancouver or the surrounding area, you can take part through the local City Nature Challenge 2025 umbrella project on iNaturalist. Any observation you make from April 25–28 in the region will automatically count!
Join the Global Project: If your city isn’t officially participating, no worries! Just join the CNC 2025 Global Project and your observations will still be included in the worldwide totals.
Help with Identifications: After the observation period, you can log in to iNaturalist and help identify species—no degree required! Every little bit helps.
🌳 Guided Events in Vancouver
Want a little help getting started? Join one of the guided nature walks hosted at some of Vancouver’s beautiful green spaces:
Burnt Bridge Creek Exploration – Learn to use iNaturalist and discover local flora and fauna along this riparian trail.
Water Resources Education Center Nature Trails – A great spot for birding, wildflower spotting, and wetland exploration with naturalist guides.
Keep an eye on the City of Vancouver events calendar for details and registration!
🐝 Why It Matters
By participating in the City Nature Challenge, you’re contributing to real science. The data collected helps researchers monitor species distribution, track changes in local ecosystems, and build a global picture of biodiversity—especially in urban areas.
Plus, it's a fun and easy way to get outside, connect with nature, and learn something new.
📲 Don’t forget to download the iNaturalist app, make sure it’s up to date, and get ready to explore your world! Together, we can make CNC 2025 the biggest and most impactful yet.
Let’s show the world how biodiverse Vancouver can be—one observation at a time. 🌼