Welcome to the City Nature Challenge: Berkshire and Oxfordshire! Join us in recording any wildlife in these counties! Your nature sightings contribute valuable data that help scientists understand and protect our environment.
What is City Nature Challenge?
Started in 2016 as a competition between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the City Nature Challenge (CNC) has grown into an international event, motivating people around the world to find and document wildlife in their cities. Run by the Community Science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the CNC is an annual four-day global bioblitz at the end of April, where cities are in a collaboration-meets-friendly-competition to see not only what can be accomplished when we all work toward a common goal.
How to participate?
Taking part is easy! Download the iNaturalist app to your smartphone or tablet and use it to upload photos of any wildlife you see of WILD plants & animals you encounter between Friday 24th April – Monday 27th April, 2026. Join our City Nature Challenge project:
Berkshire project Oxfordshire project
Tuesday 28th April – Sunday 10th May, 2026: Upload and identify your photos on iNaturalist. Join the project and check back as we record all the biodiversity we find! Let's document our local wildlife together!
Wednesday 13th May 2026: Results announced!
Why get involved?
Community science is for everyone! Whether you're an avid naturalist or just getting started, you can participate in community science and help collect data on the biodiversity in our beautiful counties. Every observation helps us understand and conserve local wildlife. Community-generated data is crucial for scientists, aiding efforts to protect nature both locally and globally.
Whether you’re a wildlife group, school, parish council, or local venue, you can play a part in helping people connect with nature and contribute to biodiversity research.
How you can help:
- Host a nature walk, wildlife survey, or drop-in session during the Challenge weekend.
- Provide access to green spaces or facilities for events.
- Promote the Challenge through your networks and encourage your community to take part.
Interested? Email us at tverc@oxfordshire.gov.uk to express your interest or ask any questions - we'd love to hear from you!
Learn more about City Nature Challenge
New to iNaturalist?
Explore the links below to learn how to use the iNaturalist mobile app. Once you're familiar with the app, you can upload and identify your observations on iNaturalist.
The City Nature Challenge is organised on a global scale by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Academy of Sciences. The City Nature Challenge 2026: Berkshire and Oxfordshire is organised by Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC).
Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund’s WISH Partnership for support to broaden community involvement in wildlife monitoring.