City Nature Challenge starts TODAY!
It’s DAY ONE of this year's global nature event and we can’t wait to get stuck into wildlife recording all the local species we can find. This year’s event takes place Friday 28 April – Monday 1 May and has over 485 cities taking part across 46 countries.
From trees and flowers, to butterflies and birds, every sighting counts! We need everyone across the region recording their wildlife sightings and uploading them to iNaturalist during this bank holiday weekend.
Nature activities in the West of England
Anyone can go out and record wildlife sightings during this weekend’s challenge, but if you’d like to get involved with some free family-friendly nature activities and expert-led outdoor sessions, there are over 40 nature walks in over 17 locations taking place!
Check out the programme of events across the West of England region 28 April – 1 May and sign up to some free walks!
Wildlife Spotter Sheets
This year, we really want you to search for and record pollinators and trees!
What is a pollinator? Pollinators carry pollen with them as they move from flower to flower, helping fertilise the plants. They include bumble bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, wasps, flies, and beetles.
Why look for them? Insect pollinator species are in decline as biodiversity loss around the planet accelerates. It’s important that researchers and conservation organisations know where pollinators are, to help increase their numbers.
We’ve made these handy Pollinator Spotter Sheets to help you search for, identify and record pollinators in the region.
Why record trees? Trees are crucial for humans and the natural environment to thrive. Recording your local trees helps researchers and conservation organisations monitor losses or gains to tree numbers, which can offer information about biodiversity, wildlife habitats and air quality levels.
Find our Trees in Spring Spotter Sheets here, to help you search for, identify and record trees in the region.
What happens to my City Nature Challenge data?
During this year’s West of England Region City Nature Challenge, wildlife recordings submitted to iNaturalist will be collected, processed and used by the Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre (BRERC).
The Festival of Nature team visited BRERC to find out more about environmental data – and why it’s so important to submit it! Click here to watch the video to find out how your findings from City Nature Challenge can be used by BRERC.
If you've got Questions about challenge, please check out this year's FAQ guide!
Show us your sightings!
We'd love to see what you get up to this weekend and any exciting finds, so don't forget to tag @festofnature on twitter and instgram so we can re-share your post.
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