The City Nature Challenge is an effort for cities to find and document as much urban nature as possible by challenging residents to become citizen scientists: Residents are asked to explore their area (backyard, playgrounds, parks, etc.) for plants and bugs/animals, document their findings (take a photo), and report them (via the iNaturalist website or app). The underlying objective of this event is to develop a new baseline of a city’s biodiversity and to monitor how exactly change is accelerating.

The 2021 City Nature Challenge will take place on April 30th to May 3rd, 2021 and will be undertaken in over 300 cities across the world and Indianapolis and Fort Wayne are among those cities competing in this international event!

Indianapolis

Event size is tracked via the event pages below, so please sign-up!

Fort Wayne

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/midwest-myanmar-nature-project

Anywhere in Indiana!

Statewide Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/indiana-city-nature-challenge-2021

Bloomington: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021-bloomington

Evansville: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021-evansville

Lafayette: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021-lafayette

Michiana: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021-michiana

Terre Haute: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021-terre-haute

This event is one of the largest citizen science events in Hoosier history, so join the fun and help make history!


EVENTS


Reconnecting to our Waterways – Do Citizen Science: Identifying Backyard Plants, Animals & Insects (event recording)


SUPPORT


The Indianapolis City Nature Challenge is organized by un-paid volunteers and fiscally sponsored by the 501(c)3 non-profit Indiana Sciences. If you would like to support this effort, please consider donating at the link below:

SUPPORT THE INDIANAPOLIS CITY NATURE CHALLENGE

If you enjoy events like the City Nature Challenge and would like to join our movement, please consider signing up on the form below to stay up to date and, if you are ambitious, join our team!

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

You can also support the event by purchasing merch from the shop! We currently have the locally designed “Science Will Unite Us” tees from United State of Indiana! All proceeds go to support our STEM events and programming throughout Indiana!

GET SWEET SCIENCE STUFF

This event, and everything we do, is only possible due to the amazing support and generosity of Hoosiers passionate about science.  From the bottom of our hearts: Thank you!