Join the 2023 City Nature Challenge!

The City Nature Challenge is an annual global collaborative effort to find and document wildlife observations in and around urban areas. Join nature enthusiasts worldwide in discovering the biodiversity in your area. The 2023 City Nature Challenge takes place from Friday, April 28 to Monday, May 1, 2023.

The R.H. Mallory Center for Community Geography along with the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies (GES), will for the fourth year in a row, host the ABQ City Nature Challenge at UNM.

Three departments and schools at the University of New Mexico (UNM) will be going head to head in a community science competition this month. The Department of Geography & Environmental Studies (GES) , Department of Biology (BIO) and the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) are forming teams to participate in the 2023 City Nature Challenge, and you can join us to be a part of this unique community science initiative!

UNM students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to join one of the three teams, even if they come from a different department. If you would like to form your own team, though, follow the instructions here.

How do I Join a Team?

All UNM students are invited to join the challenge on one of the three teams. Follow these easy steps to get set up:

Download the iNaturalist app to your phone.
Join a team at UNM to make sure your observations are counted:

From April 28 to May 1, make as many observations as possible in Bernalillo, Sandoval, or Valencia Counties. You don’t even have to know what you’re observing. Just take a photo and then the naturalists and scientists using iNaturalist will figure out what it is.

On Friday, April 28, all are invited to stop by Bandelier East from 10am to 1pm where students in the GEOG2115 class (“Information Design in Science and Society,” taught by Dr. Yolanda Lin) and the Center for Community Geography will have an informational table set up outside to encourage UNM students to participate. We will also have guided walks around campus at 10am and 12pm so we can show people how to collect observations!

What if I’ve Never Observed Wildlife Before?

You don’t have to be an expert to contribute! Simply take photos of any plants or animals you see, even in your own backyard, and upload them to iNaturalist. The app is easy to use, and there are numerous training sessions available

Watch this video: Finding Observations for iNaturalist in Your Neighborhood (8 min)
Watch recorded iNaturalist tutorial (YouTube, 1h 20min)

What happens after the City Nature Challenge?

After the observation period ends, expert naturalists and scientists will use iNaturalist to review all the photographs and ID all the species. You can help identify species in the photographs taken if you have knowledge of local plants and animals!

Each team has until May 7th to complete the identification process before results are finalized and a winner is declared for each category. The identification process will take place simultaneously all across Albuquerque and around the world. Finalized datasets can be used later for mapping and analysis of biodiversity in our communities. The Center for Community Geography is currently working with the Albuquerque Backyard Refuge Program to use CNC data for mapping and planning/prioritizing community habitat restoration, so we hope to see as much participation as possible right here in New Mexico.