The City Nature Challenge is a global event to find, document and protect urban wildlife. Find an event near you!
Log your observations of plants, fish, wildlife, fungi and more during the one-week global City Nature Challenge, an effort to find and document urban wildlife. Join one of the Nebraska projects or the statewide effort.
April 28 – May 1, 2023: Upload wildlife observations to iNaturalist
May 2- May 7, 2023: Help identify observations via iNaturalist
May 8, 2023: Results announced
Visit the Nebraska Wildlife Education Facebook page for details on virtual and in-person events and links to register.
Contact: Julia Jenson
Email: julia.janson@omahazoo.com
Contact: Alie Mayes
Email: alie.mayes@nebraska.gov
Phone: 402-471- 5006
Contact: Jamie Bachmann
Email: jamie.bachmann@nebraska.gov
Phone: 402-370-3374
Contact: Meghan Manary
Email: meghan.manary@nebraska.gov
Contact: Julie Geiser
Email: julie.geiser@nebraska.gov
Phone: 308-660-6955
Contact: Delanie Bruce
Email: delanie.bruce@birdconservancy.org
Phone: 308-633-1013
If you don’t live in a participating location, you can join the City Nature Challenge 2023: Global Project on iNaturalist to make your observations count!
Log in to iNaturalist May 2-7 to help identify wildlife observations made in Nebraska made between April 28-May 1. To help, Nebraska Game and Parks is hosting four lunchtime identification parties. Join content experts who can help answer all of your identification questions in the free, virtual events:
All observations made in a participating city and uploaded to iNaturalist during the observation period of the challenge will automatically be counted toward that city’s total. You do not have to join the project for your observations to count, as long as you are within a participating city’s boundaries.
If you don’t live in a participating city, you can join the Global City Nature Challenge Project on iNaturalist. This project allows anyone, from anywhere, to participate in the event. Global participants have to join the project for observations to count.
There is nature all around us, even in our cities. Knowing what species are in our urban areas and where they are located helps us study and protect them. But, the ONLY way to achieve this is by all of us — scientists, land managers and the community — working together to find and document nature in our areas. By participating in the CNC, not only do you learn more about your local nature, but you can also make your city a better place for you and your wild neighbors!
The CNC was started in 2016 by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and California Academy of Sciences. The first CNC was an eight-day competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco, engaging residents and visitors to document nature in order to better understand urban biodiversity. In 2017, the CNC went national, and in 2018, the CNC became an international event. The event has continued to grow each year. In 2021, more than 400 cities across 44 countries participated, contributing over 1 million observations to iNaturalist!
The City Nature Challenge across Nebraska wouldn’t be possible without our partners in conservation.
Have questions about the City Nature Challenge? Reach out to Alie Mayes.
