City Nature Challenge

Thank you to everyone who took part in our third City Nature Challenge! Whether you uploaded your records, or helped identify other observations, your contributions to citizen science are invaluable.

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?

The City Nature Challenge is an annual four-day global bioblitz, where cities compete to gather the most nature observations, find the most species, and achieve the highest participation.

How to participate?

Friday 24th April – Monday 27th April, 2026: Simply venture outdoors and capture photos of the stunning flowers, interesting plants, or captivating animals you encounter and upload them to iNaturalist. 

Tuesday 28th April – Sunday 3rd 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!


iNaturalist instructions

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 - wed love tou hear from you! 

City Nature Challenge Frequently Asked Questions

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.

iNaturalist tutorials

Last year's City Nature Challenge project:

Berkshire project  Oxfordshire project


City Nature Challenge 2025

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 2025: 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.