Bioblitz A girl takes a photograph of a species of plant to upload to iNaturalist. © Devan King/TNC

City Nature Challenge

Discover and document the biodiversity of our urban spaces.

By Deborah Barber, Director of Land Management, Maryland/DC Chapter

Deborah Barber is the director of land management for Maryland/DC, supporting efforts in two key areas where the chapter's outcomes can have the greatest impact: protecting clean water and tackling climate change.

What kind of wild species can you spot at one-minute past midnight on a rainy spring night?

That’s the question DC-area citizen scientists were recently asking themselves. There’s stiff competition to be the first person to post a photo of a wild organism to the iNaturalist app, and become the first observer in the Washington, DC City Nature Challenge.

The City Nature Challenge is a fun, friendly competition that encourages people to discover and document the biodiversity of our urban spaces. Held each year among metropolitan areas worldwide, the aim is to find out which city can spot the greatest number of wild species, find the most diversity of species, and engage the most observers.

The event has grown by leaps and bounds since it began in 2016. 159 cities took part this year, reporting 963,773 observations--more than double from 2018!

Zoom In, Zoom Out

iNaturalist, like The Nature Conservancy itself, is both deep and broad, highly local and powerfully global. Zoom in, zoom out, you’ll see amazing things at every level.

**Asian Lady Beetle** (Harmonia axyridis) pupae on plant in Lyon Park, Maryland native plant garden. © Deborah Barber / TNC

Zoom in: I posted a photo of a ladybeetle larva in my garden, then learned from other users that the Asian species has forked bristles; the natives’ bristles are single-tipped. Now I know what to look for! Zoom out from any observation and you can see the global distribution of that species.

With a few more clicks, you can see how each organism fits into the entire taxonomical tree of life. Likewise, with TNC, I can spend a morning at work monitoring a plant found only in one small patch in Maryland, then in the afternoon share conservation strategies with Conservancy colleagues from Mongolia, China or Indonesia.

iNaturalist and TNC are both constantly learning and evolving. iNaturalist’s computer vision, added in 2017, becomes smarter as users identify photos of organisms.

When I started working at the Maryland/DC Chapter, one of my first plant monitoring projects was documenting the steady decline of a rare wildflower, Canby's dropwort (Oxypolis canbyi). Now we have learned that it needs fire to thrive. We are burning its habitat and watching it multiply, and we are working with partner organizations to develop regional strategies to develop a more fire-friendly culture for natural area managers.

Friendly Competition

I’m not normally a competitive person, but when this year’s City Nature Challenge began, I was out at midnight helping the DC area make the best possible showing. This year we ranked 5th for both number of observers and number of research grade observations and 11th for number of species.

So, what observations have DC-area iNaturalists submitted in the moments past midnight? Photos of a flashlight-illuminated ichneumonid wasp, a shield lichen, raccoon tracks on a trash can, a kitchen pantry moth and an audio file of a mockingbird singing its late-night song all have contributed to our picture of the diversity of life in Washington, DC.

City Nature Observations

**City Nature Challenge 2019** Young naturalists on the hunt for critters during the Maryland/DC chapter's "Moths in the Morning" guided hike. © Bridget Moynihan / TNC

**Woodlouse Spider** (Dysdera crocata), one of the first observations of the 2019 City Nature Challenge, spotted at 12:05 a.m. © Deborah Barber

**Eastern Cottontail** (Sylvilagus floridanus). On of the first observations of the 2018 City Nature Challenge, recorded at 12:10 am. © Deborah Barber / TNC

**British Soldier Lichen** (Cladonia cristatella) observed during the 2019 City Nature Challenge. © Deborah Barber / TNC

**Genus Aedes** Observed during the 2019 City Nature Challenge. © Deborah Barber

**Crane-fly Orchid** (Tipularia discolor). Observed during the 2018 City Nature Challenge. © Deborah Barber / TNC

**City Nature Challenge 2019** TNC's Bridget Moynihan and naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley show their love for nature during the Maryland/DC chapter's "Capitol Trees" guided hike. © TNC

**Capitol Tree Tour** DC author and naturalist, Melanie Choukas-Bradley, leads a guided hike on the US Capitol grounds during the 2018 City Nature Challenge. © Bridget Moynihan / TNC

**City Nature Challenge** Chestnut observed during a guided hike of the US Capitol grounds during the 2018 City Nature Challenge. © Bridget Moynihan / TNC

**City Nature Challenge** A dogwood in bloom during a guided hike of the US Capitol grounds during the 2018 City Nature Challenge. © Bridget Moynihan / TNC

**White-tailed Deer** (Odocoileus virginianus). Observations can be recorded by the things an animal leaves behind, like fur or droppings. © Deborah Barber / TNC

**Common Five-lined Skink** (Plestiodon fasciatus). You never know where an observation may be hiding! © Deborah Barber / TNC

**City Nature Challenge** Verifying observations at an ID party held at the Natural History Society of Maryland. Elevating observations to research grade adds to our understanding of urban biodiversity © Bridget Moynihan / TNC

How You Can Take Part

What began in 2016 as a friendly challenge between Los Angeles and San Francisco, organized by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, has now grown to an international event. And it's never too early to start honing your observation skills!

It’s easy to get involved using the iNaturalist app (free on the app store). Just take a picture of a plant or animal and upload it to the app. Our photo gallery of local TNC preserves and partner sites below will help get you started, but you can also explore your own backyard or neighborhood parks. There's nature all around you!