Help document urban wildlife by participating in City Nature Challenge

Nebraskans of all ages are invited to participate in the City Nature Challenge, a global event to find and document urban wildlife.

The challenge, which is April 28 to May 7, is a chance to look for nature in urban areas and learn about the animal and plant life discovered there.

Using the free iNaturalist app, participants will photograph wildlife and upload their observations to the app between April 28-May 1. They’ll then help identify observations between May 2-7.

Wildlife can be any wild plant, animal, fish, fungi or any other evidence of life, such as scat, fur or tracks. Participants can even document species through their windows.

Though anyone may participate in the CNC global project, Nebraska is hosting the challenge from five urban locations across the state. Search iNaturalist for the following project near you to participate:

• City Nature Challenge 2023: Lincoln-Lancaster County
• City Nature Challenge 2023: Norfolk-Madison County Nebraska
• City Nature Challenge 2023: North Platte, Nebraska
• City Nature Challenge 2023: Omaha Metro
• City Nature Challenge 2023: Scotts Bluff County
• City Nature Challenge 2023: Global Project

People can explore alone or participate in local events. They are:

April 28

• City Nature Challenge Festival, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time, Legion Park, Gering

April 29

• CNC across LNK, 9 a.m. to noon, various locations in Lincoln
• City Nature Challenge: Explore Skyview Lake, 2 to 3:30 p.m., Norfolk
• City Nature Challenge Walk at Heron Haven, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Omaha

April 30

• Wilderness Park BioBlitz, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Lincoln
• City Nature Challenge at Verges Park, 2 to 5 p.m., Norfolk
• City Nature Challenge at Fontenelle Forest, 1 to 4 p.m., Bellevue

Visit Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov for more details about these events. Participants also can register there for the following free virtual events:

• Introduction to the City Nature Challenge, 7 p.m. April 25
• CNC ID Party: Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians & Fish, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., May 2
• CNC ID Party: Plants & Fungi, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., May 3
• CNC ID Party: Insects, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., May 4
• CNC ID Party: Birds, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., May 5

The City Nature Challenge, launched in 2016 as a competition between two U.S. cities, now is an international competition to document nature and better understand urban biodiversity. In 2022, more than 67,000 participants made nearly 1.7 million observations of more than 50,000 species globally.

Learn more about the City Nature Challenge at OutdoorNebraska.gov.