How Did Canada Do in the City Nature Challenge 2025?
The City Nature Challenge 2026 takes place over a nine-day period from April 24 to May 3, 2026. There are two parts to the program:
April 24 – April 27, 2026
Make your observations. Record and upload photos and sounds of wild plants and animals through iNaturalist.ca or the iNaturalist app. Observations made in participating cities (see list below) will automatically be added. If you’re not in a participating city, you can still make observations by joining the City Nature Challenge Canada 2026: non-registered cities project in iNaturalist. From bees, to birds, flowers to trees, and funga to mammals, every observation of a species found in Canada will add to our overall total. In 2025, Canadians registered 155,139 observations. Let’s see if we can top 200,000 in 2026!
April 28 — May 3, 2026
Upload and identify. Finish uploading photos and sound recordings that were taken during the observation period. Equally important, this is a time for anyone to help identify as many of the observations as possible. Only observations that have an identification will count towards the species total. Plus, identifications that are confirmed by two or more people become “research grade” and more trustworthy for use in conservation. Even beginners can help out by identifying simple things or high-level ID (such as “conifer”), but we also need experts to share their knowledge.
Why Participate in the City Nature Challenge?
Bragging rights, for one. We have a different climate that sets us apart from more southern areas, so CNC Canada is setting up its own Canada-wide challenge, nested within the international CNC 2025 event. Pick a friendly fight with another Canadian community; you can even put a friendly wager on the table. Any way you look at it, biodiversity wins. Knowing what species are found in each city helps conservationists study and conserve them, and the CNC is a way for scientists, land managers and the community to come together for the common good of documenting nature in the area.
Connect with nature and your community. This is a chance to explore some of the areas in your community and discover biodiversity right outside your door – from the local park to sidewalk edges and your own backyard.
Learn from experts. CNC attracts many experts in a focused attempt to identify everything found during the event. The more species that are identified, the greater the tally grows. If you find something and you don’t know what it is, chances are someone will help identify it for you.
Help Canada accept the challenge! Don’t live in a participating city? Get them involved for next year by talking with your municipality, a local organization or take it on yourself! Contact us to learn what’s involved.
How to Participate
Find Wildlife
It can be any plant, animal, or any other evidence of life found in your city.
Take a Picture Or Record a Sound
Take pictures of all the wild plants and animals you can find in your area. You can also upload sound recordings of any animals you hear. And as always, be sure to note its location..
Share
Upload your photos or sound recordings on iNaturalist.ca or the iNaturalist app. Your observations will be automatically included in the City Nature Challenge.
Create your own iNaturalist account
To participate in the CNC event, you need to open your free iNaturalist account by following the steps:
Upload Observations
Using the iNaturalist App or your account on iNaturalist.ca, start sharing your observations – all observations uploaded using the iNaturalist app or at iNatualist.ca during the CNC will be automatically added..
Join the CNC Canada Project
Join the CNC Canada project to get updates and other information.
Join >
Get Feedback
Get feedback from actual scientists, experts, and other naturalists on each observation.
