Take part in the City Nature Challenge 2023

Attention all budding naturalists! Get involved with the City Nature Challenge, an international campaign to discover and record as much wildlife as possible over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Just download and use the iNaturalist app.

What is the City Nature Challenge?

The City Nature Challenge is an exciting global citizen science event to discover and record as much wildlife as possible, using the free iNaturalist app, whilst helping people connect with the nature on their doorstep. Locally, City Nature Challenge is organised by University of Brighton, University of Sussex, The Living Coast and the South Downs National Park. The UK event is co-ordinated by The Natural History Consortium, and the global event is co-ordinated by the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles and California Academy of Sciences.

This year, the Brighton & Eastern Downs region will be taking part in the global City Nature Challenge alongside over 450 city regions worldwide, including 22 across the UK.

Anyone can take part between 28 April and 1 May – young and old, experienced naturalists and curious beginners.

Where and how to get involved

You can record your nature sightings from Pulborough in the west across the South Downs east to reaching the outskirts of Eastbourne.

• Search your local park, garden, school ground, nature reserve, beach – there are endless possibilities!
• Observations can be made of wildlife on land, in freshwater, or in the sea!
• We encourage you to only upload wild and non-captive sightings. Please, no photos of people, pets, or potted-plants!
• You don’t have to be an expert, as the iNaturalist app will give you some handy suggestions of what it thinks you’ve seen and the iNaturalist online community will help you to learn more about the wildlife around you.
• How to use iNaturalist (PDF)
• See the local area map and project details