Canadians Compete in 2025 City Nature Challenge to Track Global Biodiversity

/EIN News/ -- OTTAWA, Ontario, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadians coast to coast will compete against more than 700 cities in a record 70 countries in the 10th annual City Nature Challenge from April 25 to 28, 2025.

“This is a massive international effort to track and showcase global biodiversity at a time when wildlife and people are remerging after a long winter,” said James Pagé, species at risk and biodiversity specialist for the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF). “Simply using the free iNaturalist app to grab a sound recording or snap a photo of any wild plant or animal anywhere in the city, automatically contributes to the tally and to our understanding of biodiversity, like tracking the first butterfly to emerge this season or the earliest spring flowers.”

This year, 36 Canadian cities have united to represent Canada in this global competition to see which community can track the highest number of wildlife observations. Results for both Canada and participating cities internationally will be announced after May 5, 2025.

With the loss of biological diversity emerging as a global environmental threat, anyone can be part of the solution. The City Nature Challenge encourages people to upload species observations and sound recordings to the iNaturalist.ca platform. These observations become part of an international database of biodiversity to be used for conservation.

While Canadian cities will compete against each other to see which one can engage the most people and accumulate the highest number of observations, the collective number will represent Canada’s total in the international competition. In 2024, over 2.4 million observations were made, and 65,682 species were identified including rare, endangered, or threatened species. In Canada, 123,451 observations were made including 5,157 different species. Metro Vancouver earned top honours with 14,066 observations including 1,563 different species. This year’s event runs in two parts: recording observations from April 25 – 28 and identifying observations April 29 – May 4. Canadians not in a city officially registered for the City Nature Challenge can still participate by contributing to the Non-Registered Cities project listed in iNaturalist.ca

The City Nature Challenge was established by the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and Natural Museum of Los Angeles in 2016. For more information visit iNatualist.ca. You can also contribute using iNaturalist all year by joining CWF’s Observation Nation project.

RELATED LINKS:
Canadian Wildlife Federation CNC Information Page: www.citynaturechallenge.ca
City Nature Challenge Canada iNaturalist Project Page: https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-canada-2025-defi-nature-urbaine
Canadian Wildlife Federation Observation Nation Project page: https://inaturalist.ca/projects/observation-nation-bioobservateurs
City Nature Challenge:   https://citynaturechallenge.org/

About the Canadian Wildlife Federation:
The Canadian Wildlife Federation is a national, not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to conserving Canada’s wildlife and habitats for the use and enjoyment of all. By spreading knowledge of human impacts on wildlife and the environment, carrying out actions to conserve and restore species and habitats, developing and delivering conservation education programs, advocating for changes to government policy and programs, and co-operating with like-minded partners, CWF encourages a future in which Canadians can live in harmony with nature. For more information, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.

About the City Nature Challenge:
Started in 2016 for the first-ever Citizen Science Day, the teams at Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and California Academy of Sciences dreamed up the City Nature Challenge as a fun way to capitalize on their home cities’ friendly rivalry. In 2017 the City Nature Challenge went national and in 2018 it became an international event.

2025 CITY NATURE CHALLENGE CANADA PARTICIPATING CANADIAN CITIES

Abbotsford, B.C.
Algoma District and Chippewa County, Ont.
Annapolis Valley, N.S.
Barrie, Ont.
Brandon, Man.
Calgary, Alta.
Cape Breton Regional Municipality, N.S.
Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Edmonton, Alta.
Fort Erie, Ont.
Fredericton, N.B.
Gatineau, Que.
Greater Victoria, B.C.
Halifax Regional Municipality, N.S.
Kamloops, B.C.
Kincardine, Ont.
Kingston, Ont.
Lethbridge, Alta.
London, Ont.
Moncton; Dieppe; Tantramar, N.B.
Montreal, Que.
Niagara Falls, Ont.
Ottawa, Ont.
Quebec City, Que.
Red Deer, Alta.
Regina, Sask.
Richmond, B.C.
Saskatoon, Sask.
Sherbooke, Que.
St. Catharines, Ont.
Summerside, P.E.I.
Thunder Bay, Ont.
Toronto and Greater Toronto Area, Ont.
Vancouver, B.C.
Welland, Ont.
Winnipeg, Man.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/343d27e9-f574-40ad-a1f1-e0f41d1a7d6a

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3555e5eb-4af3-4d85-a383-483f9378478d

Connect with nature and your community.

Get Involved in the 2025 City Nature Challenge – now celebrating its 10th year in Canada!

Learn from experts.

Record and upload photos and sounds of wild plants and animals through iNaturalist.ca or the iNaturalist app.