The City Nature Challenge is a global nature-recording competition taking place from Friday 28 April to Monday 1 May 2023.
Organised internationally by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the challenge started in 2016 and has grown to over 480 cities worldwide taking part in 2023, including 22 in the UK. This year, NEYEDC is leading Hull’s first ever City Nature Challenge with the help of a team of local partner organisations.
In the 2022 City Nature Challenge, over 1.6 million records were made worldwide of over 50,000 species. The aim in Hull is to add to the count for 2023, promoting the collection of biological data across the city and encouraging people from all backgrounds and experiences to connect with the nature in their gardens, local parks and urban green spaces. As well as adding to the worldwide totals for 2023 and allowing for a bit of friendly competition between cities, data collected in Hull will also be utilised by NEYEDC to help inform important environmental decision-making in the city.
Robin Sanders, Project Officer at NEYEDC, said: “We are excited to be bringing the City Nature Challenge to Hull this year. It’s a great opportunity to highlight the biodiversity on our doorstep and work with both established nature recorders and the general public to collect data that can make a real difference.”
Anyone can get involved in the City Nature Challenge using iNaturalist, an online and app-based recording platform that allows you to make observations of wild plants and animals and get help identifying them. Simply take a photo or a sound recording of what you spot in Hull over the weekend of 28 April – 1 May and submit it via the app. Any records made within the City of Hull boundary via iNaturalist during the course of the weekend will automatically be added to NEYEDC’s iNaturalist City Nature Challenge Project page. After the four-day event, the observations will be verified before results are released on 8 May. This is your opportunity to help get Hull’s wildlife featured globally.
Over the weekend, NEYEDC’s partners will also be holding free family-friendly events at three sites on Saturday 29 April, including bioblitizes and nature walks, which offer the chance to make observations for the City Nature Challenge and explore nature in the city. These events will be supported by local experts and organisations who can help you identify your finds and support you in using the iNaturalist app. You can find events at:
- Alderman Kneeshaw Park, Valiant Drive, Hull, HU9 4DX, Saturday 29 April, 11am-3pm
- Pearson Park, Princes Avenue, Hull, HU5 2UH, Saturday 29 April, 10am-3pm
- Pickering Park, Pickering Road Hull, HU4 6TA, Saturday 29 April, 10:30am-2pm
For more information on this year’s event in Hull, please visit: www.neyedc.org.uk/hull-city-nature-challenge-2023 or email events@neyedc.co.uk. To find out more about the City Nature Challenge, visit: www.citynaturechallenge.org.