Capetonians and visitors to the Mother City are invited to share their observations of local plant and animal species to stand a chance to win exclusive prizes.
Also read: Cape Town finishes second out of 482 cities in the City Nature Challenge
This year, the City Nature Challenge will run from Friday, 26 April to Monday, 29 April. During this time, pedestrian access to the City’s nature reserves will be free for those participating in the challenge.
‘The City Nature Challenge is about documenting all the wildlife in our city. All that is required of residents when contributing an observation is to take a photo and upload it onto the iNaturalist app,’ says Alderman Eddie Andrews, the City’s Mayco member for spatial planning and environment.
‘Volunteers from over 2 000 cities worldwide will be recording their animals and plants over four days at the end of April. This is your opportunity to be part of the mammoth record-taking of our local biodiversity.’
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The City Nature Challenge started in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2016, before going national in 2017 and international in 2018.
Cape Town joined the challenge in 2019. By 2023, a total of 31 Southern African cities participated.
‘Last year Cape Town submitted a staggering 53 051 observations during the event, documenting 3 592 species from 1 286 observers,’ says Andrews.
‘This great effort saw us placed second in the number of observations and fourth in the number of species globally. This is an amazing achievement. Our challenge going forward is to increase the number of people participating and inspiring Capetonians to get even more involved.’
For a list of the City’s reserves and details about their location, facilities and attractions, visit this link.
You will need the following to get started:
- A smartphone with a camera and GPS turned on, or a camera that connects to a computer with internet access
- An internet connection (at home, school, City nature reserve, or City Library)
- Install the free iNaturalist app and sign up via iNaturalist.
Once your images have been downloaded, check back regularly on the app for updates.
The City also encourages schools, universities and social groups to use this opportunity to support student outdoor learning and exploration in schoolyards, nearby parks or other green spaces.
For more information, visit inaturalist.org.
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Also read:
It’s time to go exploring, the City Nature Challenge is back!
Picture: Tobias Reich / Unsplash