City nature challenge
Help put Toronto and the GTA on the map to win the title of the wildest city in Canada by taking part in the City Nature Challenge 2024 from April 26 - 29!
The City Nature Challenge is an annual four-day global event where cities across the world compete to see which city can gather the greatest number of wildlife observations, find the most species and engage the most people at the event. EcoSpark is once again proud to be the regional organizer for the city of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.
Worldwide, over 1.8 million wildlife observations were made, making City Nature Challenge 2023, the biggest one yet!
Help us surpass 2 million observations this year, and put Toronto and GTA on the map to win the title of the wildest city in Canada!
Inviting all schools to participate
Inviting all schools in the GTA to participate in City Nature Challenge as we track biodiversity across Toronto & GTA to win the title of the wildest city in Canada!
Get your students outside and collect nature observations using the iNaturalist platform during the Challenge!
We’ll recognize the school community that submits the most number of observations and more. Earn awards for your contributions!
Check out the education toolkit for tips and ideas about engaging your students in outdoor learning and exploration of nature in schoolyards, parks and nearby green spaces.
Silvery Blue, Vaughan, ON, Canada (CC BY-NC Colleen Craig)
City Nature Challenge StoryMap
Check out our City Nature Challenge StoryMap! Created by EcoSpark staff, this resource contains everything you need to know to participate in the annual City Nature Challenge. Scroll through to learn about this fun citizen science activity.
WIN AMAZING PRIZES
Sign up for EcoSpark’s Newsletter to get access to free activities, exciting offers and updates to connect with nature near you in this year’s City Nature Challenge.
Sign up to stand a chance to win prizes from Canon and Urban Nature Store!
All participants are encouraged to use the Urban Nature Store Discount Code Included Below.
Build enthusiasm by designing your own games and competitions in your school or club (use our Springo card for inspiration!)
Other prizes to be announced!
How to participate in City Nature ChallengE
1. OBSERVE LOCAL WILDLIFE
Safely explore nature on trails or from wherever you are in the GTA by finding wild species close to home. Even watching birds from your window is helpful! Take a picture or record a sound of what you find using a camera and upload it to iNaturalist (users must be 13 years or older to make an account). Be sure to note the location.
Record observations anytime April 26 - 29 and submit by May 5, 2024. Encourage your friends and neighbours to help out! View photos on the City Nature Challenge: Toronto and GTA project.
Be aware of human and wildlife safety at all times and explore natural areas responsibly with ethical wildlife photography. To support biodiversity research, focus on insects, birds, weeds, and other wild plants, animals and fungi (rather than cultivated species like garden flowers).
Tree Swallow, Toronto, ON, Canada (CC0 Reuven Martin)
2. Share Your photos
Eastern Black Walnut, Oakville, ON, Canada (CC0 Nart Barileva)
Submit observations by uploading them to your iNaturalist account (on your computer or with the app). Join EcoSpark’s iNaturalist page for fascinating biodiversity info and local updates!
Check back on iNaturalist April 30 - May 5 to help identify what species we found. No special skills are required to get involved in exploring the data! EcoSpark will showcase local results and species totals for this collaborative global event.
3. learn about local biodiversity
Dig deeper to explore the plants and animals that share our city! EcoSpark educator resources and City Nature Challenge Education Toolkit help teachers and students make curriculum connections and practice outdoor inquiry.
Book a remote interactive EcoSpark session to engage your grade 6-12 class in citizen science activities you can use to monitor wildlife in school grounds or try at home. We also help corporate and volunteer groups engage with their local environment. Our programs help you learn about and improve local habitat. Subscribe to our newsletter (below) for updates.
Let’s support even more diverse species for next year’s count! Together we can steward the GTA’s ecosystems that sustain us all.
City nature challenge 2024 timeline
April 26 to 29
Join EcoSpark for City Nature Challenge 2024: Toronto and GTA. Volunteer with citizen scientists from around the world surveying wild species in their communities. Anyone can help out! Take photos or record sounds of plants and animals and post them on iNaturalist. EcoSpark will map and share the results.
April 30 TO MAY 5
Explore the records on our iNaturalist project and help identify species to the best of your ability. It’s easy to get started! By categorizing “unknown” observations into groups like “birds”, “trees”, etc. or providing species names you will help the GTA quickly identify species for the global count.
RESULTS
Check back at here for results! View 2023 results from Toronto and GTA, Canada and all over the world. Thanks to everyone who participated in City Nature Challenge 2023, we were able to break 1.87 million observations last year!
Did you participate in a past City Nature Challenge: Toronto & GTA? Check out our City Nature Challenge dashboard to view your results from 2023 and previous years.
WHY PARTICIPATE?
City Nature Challenge is a great way to connect with nature and collaborate with experts all around the world. By participating, not only do we get to learn about the local nature that is all around us, we can also help scientists study and protect species in our cities by documenting nature in our area and at the same time build community and connection. Join hundreds of cities worldwide in our effort to top 2 million observations!
City Nature Challenge 2024: Toronto and GTA is sponsored by:
City Nature Challenge is an international event organized by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
