City Nature Challenge Update 

The City Nature Challenge is still going on, and DFW is still participating. All observations will have to be made solo though – no gatherings or bioblitzes will be happening in the DFW metroplex. So, if you feel comfortable doing so, I encourage you to engage with nature during April 24-27 and make some iNaturalist observations close to home, in your backyard, in your home, or in a nearby park. I’m planning on going to a few parks, and I will go to places where other folks won’t be – little secret spots! The City Nature Challenge this year is all about engaging with nature during stressful times. Hope you’ll participate!

We’ll still use the results to show policy makers that nature is essential during these times – people NEED nature, always. I hope that will be a powerful message that folks in DFW care about nature. It’s essential to us.

For the past three years, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) through the Texas Nature Trackers program, has promoted and participated in the annual global City Nature Challenge (CNC) event, a biodiversity survey framed as a friendly competition between cities to see who can document the most species of plants and animals in and around urban areas.

Texas Nature Trackers will still monitor iNaturalist observations made during the four-day challenge (observation period runs Friday, April 24 through Monday, April 27) and we invite you, if nothing else, to document the plants and animals of your yard, common area, or even along the sidewalks when you get out for exercise for yourself and/or your pets.

Finally, please consider using the hashtag #yardchallenge on social media or as a tag in iNaturalist observations to share how you are engaging in this year’s event. To learn more about the City Nature Challenge is, please visit:  https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/naturechallenge/ or Texas-specific information and project links and https://citynaturechallenge.org/ for a global perspective.

Check out this guide we’ve put together: Exploring Nature In and Around Your Home for the City Nature Challenge

Thank you,

Sam Kieschnick
Urban Wildlife Biologist, DFW
Texas Parks and Wildlife
972-293-3841 (o)
214-215-5605 (c)