Field Studies Council is calling on communities in Greater London to join people in over 400 cities worldwide, including 14 others in the UK over the coming bank holiday weekend to find and record wildlife. This year, we are encouraging all the UK to get involved and join in with the challenge.
City Nature Challenge is a BioBlitz event, where people attempt to find, identify, and record living things within an area, in a set time. Families, individuals and community groups are being encouraged to look for nature in their gardens, parks, public spaces or homes and help us record as much wildlife as they can within Government Coronavirus (COVID‑19) rules – the information collected will create a valuable snapshot of London’s biodiversity.
City Nature Challenge: London is being led by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Field Studies Council as well as the Royal Parks, University College London, the Linnean Society, Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, the London Environmental Educators Forum and London Social Farms and Gardens. It is organized on a global scale by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Academy of Science.
“Over the last year we’ve had the chance to explore our local areas and appreciate the nature on our doorsteps like never before and City Nature Challenge is a great way to really embrace this. The whole family can take part and you certainly don’t need to be an expert, you just need to share what you see over the four days that the challenge is taking place. This can be from your local park, favourite green space, in your garden or on your balcony.”
Dr Victoria Burton, Programme Manager at the Natural History Museum
“It’s an opportunity to contribute to a really important global study, as well as helping to support the work of the Museum. The more we know the more we can to do support the natural world and make sure it thrives and survives alongside urban development.”
Dr Victoria Burton, Programme Manager at the Natural History Museum
How to take part in City Nature Challenge
- Download
All you need to get started is a smartphone with the FREE iNaturalist app downloaded, or a camera to take photos of what you see and upload to the website later. - See it
Find nature: between 30 April and 3 May 2021, within Government guidelines, explore nature in and around your home, anywhere in the UK. - Snap it
Take a picture: of wild plants, animals, or fungi that you find. If they are not wild, for example domestic animals or planted flowers, be sure to mark them as captive/ cultivated. - Share it
Share your observations: record what you find by uploading a picture (with location) onto the iNaturalist app or www.inaturalist.org.
Find out about the City Nature Challenge 2020 results here.
Don’t forget, you can use our FSC guides to help you identify what you find in your gardens, parks or local greenspace over the upcoming #citynaturechallenge weekend!
