City Nature Challenge 2026

24th to 27th April 2026

The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is an annual, four-day, global BioBlitz at the end of April where cities (and regions) are in collaboration/friendly competition to see who can gather the most records of the wildlife in their cities. Starting out as a competition between San Francisco and Los Angeles, it has grown into an into global event, with 669 cities participating in 2025 and nearly 103,000 people making 3.3 million observations.

Last year, 167 people made 12,048 observations of 1,433 species during the four days of the challenge. We need your help to beat this in 2026!

The CNC is coordinated globally by Community Science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and within Staffordshire by Staffordshire Ecological Record and Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

City Nature Challenge 2026 important dates:

Make and share observations: 24^th April – 27^th April
Get all your observations uploaded and work on identifying: 28^th April – 10^th May
Results announced: 13^th May

Why should I take part in the CNC?

The CNC is a fantastic opportunity to connect and learn about the nature in your local area, connect to like-minded individuals, contribute to conservation, both within Staffordshire and globally, and have fun, through friendly competition.

When and where should I make observations that will count for the CNC?

All observations made within Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent starting on 24^th April at 12:01am BST and up until 27^th April at 23:59 BST will count for out CNC project.

Don’t worry if you’ve taken too many photos during the CNC to upload them during these dates. There is a week (up until 10^th May at 23:59 BST) where you can work on uploading all the observations you made during 24^th April and 27^th April. They’ll still get added to our CNC project, as long as they were made in the 24^th April and 27^th April window.

What kinds of observations should I make during the CNC?

Any observations of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, lichen, etc. you find in and around Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. If you make observations of humans, domestic dogs, and cats, they will not be counted for the CNC. Observations of living or dead organisms, or evidence of those organisms, like shells, tracks, scat, feathers, etc., are fine.

When are the results announced?

The results for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent will be whatever the numbers are in our project on Sunday 10^th May at 23:59 BST. The global results will be announced around on Wednesday 13^th May.

How do I find out how Staffordshire is doing?

Check out our CNC project on iNaturalist to see how many observations have been made.

How do I use iNaturalist?

Our full guide on how to use iNaturalist is here: How to use iNaturalist.

How do I get involved?

Simply by taking photos of wildlife and uploading them to iNaturalist!

There will be also be organised events like BioBlitz’s happening across the county over the CNC weekend. We will be updating this page with details of these events closer to the time.

If you have any further questions about CNC, please check out our FAQ document.