Join the City Nature Challenge April 24-27

By Shauna Justi, Newsletter Contributor

What is the City Nature Challenge?

The City Nature Challenge, an effort to produce an accurate and citizen-science based report of the biodiversity in specific areas, begins April 24th through April 27th. This challenge encourages citizens to become more involved and observant of their environment, recording what you notice to accumulate data to save and protect local species. Hillsborough County is registered to participate in this event, and you, the citizens, are who we need to complete this challenge!

Together, as a community, we can be a part of not only preserving our environment, but through participation, gaining an understanding of how important the environment is to both the earth’s and our own wellbeing. The great diversity of Hillsborough County; the rolling hills, swampy wetlands, pine forests, and rushing rivers are only a few examples on the long list of natural landscapes that are available for us to explore and document our findings in this challenge. 

How do I participate?

This step is easy! First, find a nature area to explore within Hillsborough County, it could be a river, a park, or even your own backyard. Then, observe and take note of any wildlife in that area. To be eligible for the challenge, it must follow the definition of wild, meaning nothing that was artificially placed in the environment or taken care of by humans. Next, take a picture of your observation and do your best to identify what plant or critter it is that you observed. Finally, upload your findings to the iNaturalist app using this link https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-hillsborough-county-florida. 

Why should I participate?

Preserving the environment is a collaborative effort between scientists, land managers, and the community. We must work together to protect vulnerable species, preserve land, and encourage more biodiversity within our environment. Not only is this challenge a wonderful and easy way to participate in citizen science, but it pushes you to become more familiar with your environment, and, in turn, more appreciative.

Final Message

To learn more about the City Nature Challenge, check out their homepage through this link https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/. Participating in challenges like these gives you a way to document and ultimately preserve the environment around you.