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City Nature Challenge 2023

City Nature Challenge 2023 banner with beachfront in chicago in background, black man using iphone, red fox, green snake, and blue heron

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2023 City Nature Challenge! We invite you to join us for the 2024 City Nature Challenge.

2023 Results

2023 City Nature Challenge results

Events and Map

 

Virtual

Lincoln Park Zoo BioBlitz and City Nature Challenge 2023: Chicagoland Region
Friday, April 28th from 6PM to 7PM
Participants - individuals, families,  a group of friends - will receive training via Zoom with Lincoln Park Zoo experts from the Urban Wildlife Institute, Horticulture, and Learning teams to investigate plants, animals, and fungi in your own neighborhood using the iNaturalist app. You can contribute observations from anywhere in the Chicagoland Region. Register for this free event at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/city-nature-challenge-virtual-bioblitz-spring-2023-registration-477363716727. 

Illinois

Cook County

Bioblitz at LaBagh Woods
LaBagh Woods - Picnic Grove #3, Chicago, IL
Saturday, April 29th from 10AM to 1PM
A get-together for Northwestern University Plant Biology and Conservation graduate students and others to get outside, explore the woods, and make observations! We will have a 'headquarters' at the picnic site with snacks and instructions on how to use iNaturalist. While targeted at our student group, members of the public are welcome to attend to learn about iNaturalist and what's blooming. Contact Haley at hsharoncarter@gmail.com with questions.

100 Birds Bash
Saturday, April 29th from 2PM to 5PM
Join Chicago Ornithological Society and Urban Rivers for a celebration of the diversity of avian wildlife that have been spotted at the Wild Mile. We have recorded 99 different species of birds so far, and maybe you will be the person to find #100! Drop in any time from 2-5pm for bird watching, hear from birding experts, and enjoy free beer from our neighborhood brewing experts. Beginning birders welcome and loaner binoculars will be available. Meet on the Wild Mile board walk. Entrance at the W Eastman St. cul de sac next to REI Lincoln Park: https://goo.gl/maps/zFFM6KvTfXdWrRFv6

West Ridge Birds and Botany Walk
5801 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL
Sunday, April 30th from 8AM to 10AM
Join Chicago Ornithological Society for a bird walk around West Ridge Nature Park that will also highlight some of the botanical treasures there and their importance to birds. This restored savanna and wetland is a unique habitat that is home to a variety of migratory and breeding birds including dabbling and diving ducks, herons, hawks, a wide array of warblers, and much more. Beginning birders welcome and loaner binoculars will be available.Meet at the main West Ridge Nature Sanctuary gate: https://goo.gl/maps/j9vetRamxgKcwHhY6 RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAmyKeTZH5CXxXyMgyWBMOw1Qi_rsv4M5XsawOcUIrHMH7RQ/viewform?usp=sf_link 

ID the Birds & Bees with Illinois Science Council
3057 N Rockwell St, Chicago, IL
Tuesday, May 2nd from 6PM to 8PM
ISC is excited to present an Identification Social for the City Nature Challenge. We'll gather at Metropolitan Brewery with other citizen scientists, get a quick tutorial on how to use iNaturalist, and then hang out enjoying the local brew while marking observations that occurred over the past weekend. RSVP at https://ISCandCNC.eventbrite.com

DuPage County

DGC Sprouts: DuPage Sunflower Project and Community Science Inspiration
7214 South Cass Avenue, Darien, IL
Wednesday, April 26th from 6PM to 7PM
Be inspired by our young presenter to plant sunflowers and learn how your children can contribute to community science in a big way! We will welcome a special guest, Delanie, who as a 5th grader created the DuPage Sunflower Project. She will read her book, Lanie Plants a Sunflower. We will continue the inspiration as the children learn about small ways they can contribute to make a big impact as well. We'll then head outdoors to bioblitz in the St. John Learning Garden. For more information and to register, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/572034329077

Kane County

Bioblitz at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve
37W700 Dean St., St. Charles, IL
Friday, April 28th from 5PM to 6PM
Join us on the first day of the CNC to learn how the challenge works and how to use the iNaturalist app to report your own data. We’ll then explore LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve together to get you started as a bioblitz scientist! Call 630-444-3190 or email programs@kaneforest.com to register.

Lake County

Wildlife Nature Hunt at Greenbelt Forest Preserve
1215 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL
Saturday, April 29th from 10AM to 12PM
Everyone is welcome to join this family-friendly wildlife hunt. Share photos of wild plants, animals, and fungi with iNaturalist. Your nature sightings become data that help scientists and land managers better understand and protect nature for all of us. How many different species will we find at Greenbelt Forest Preserve? Register for this free event at: https://www.lcfpd.org/calendar-wildlife-nature-hunt-20230429/

Will County

Habitat Management & City Nature Challenge at Rock Run Preserve
Sunday, April 30th from 9AM to 12PM
Come out to help with brush control and/or the City Nature Challenge (CNC) at Rock Run - Black Rd Access. Staff from the Forest Preserve District of Will County will be on hand to lead you during our restoration efforts as well as assist with CNC procedures and identification. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Space is limited so registration is required. A completed waiver is required to participate. Please download iNaturalist on your smartphone prior to attending. Contact VolunteerServices@fpdwc.org or 815-722-7364 with any questions.

Indiana

Jasper County

Let's Look Around Stoutsburg Savanna Nature Preserve
W 1100 N, Wheatfield, IN
Monday, May 1st from 1PM to 2:30PM
We will wander the 1.5-mile Dunes and Prairie Trail, through wetland, prairie, and high quality oak savanna habitats. Observations might include wild flowers, glass lizards, and pocket gophers. Bring your smart phones/devices, with the free iNaturalist app downloaded; experienced iNaturalist helper will be present. We will meet in the Stoutsburg Savanna parking lot. From I-65 take exit 230 for IN-10 toward Demotte /Roselawn. Continue east onto IN-110. Turn north onto US 231 N and then turn right onto W 1100 N. After approximately 2.8 miles the nature preserves parking lot will be on the north side of the road. Please contact Jane Baldwin, jrb3708@gmail.com, with questions.

Lake County

Wildlife Smartphone Scavenger Hunt: Gibson Woods
6201 Parrish Ave, Hammond, Lake, IN
Saturday, April 29th from 2PM to 4PM AND
Sunday, April 30th from 1PM to 3PM
Explore Gibson Woods Nature Preserve as we learn about the wildlife that call it home through smartphone technology and the community science app, iNaturalist. We will take an easy, slow-paced hike to look at and collect data on wildlife along the trails, in hopes of recording at least 40 species. For more information and to RSVP, contact Gibson Woods Nature Preserve at gw@lakecountyparks.com or 219-844-3188. Ages 10 and up. Limited to 15 participants.

Newton County

iNaturalist Scavenger Hunt at Kankakee Sands
3294 N US 41, Morocco, IN
Saturday, April 29th from 1PM to 3PM
Join Kankakee Sands Site Manager Trevor Edmonson for an introduction to the iNaturalist app and the City Nature Challenge, followed by a Nature Scavenger Hunt at Kankakee Sands. We will take a meandering, easy, slow-paced hike to look at insects, plants, fungi, and birds. We have set a fun goal of making 50 observations on iNaturalist of plants, animals, or fungi during our scavenger hunt! Bring your smart phones/devices, with the free iNaturalist app downloaded. For more information and to RSVP, contact Trevor Edmonson at trevor.edmonson@tnc.org

Porter County

City Nature Challenge at Meadowbrook Nature Preserve
109 W. 700 North, Valparaiso, IN
Saturday, April 29th from 9AM to 12PM
Join volunteer preserve steward Jim Haniford for a laid-back hike through Shirley Heinze Land Trust's scenic Meadowbrook Nature Preserve. We'll look for spring flowers, fungi, and wildlife to catalog on the iNaturalist app for this year's City Nature Challenge. It is suggested that those interested download the app ahead of time. The hike will cover easy to moderate terrain.  Depending on the weather, certain areas of the trail may be wet, so please dress accordingly. Let's get together for this BioBlitz, enjoy Meadowbrook's wide array of flora and fauna, and help beat last year's Challenge totals! Hike is limited to 20 attendees. RSVP to mpatis@heinzetrust.org or 219-242-8558.

Mushroom Stroll at Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park (Wilson Shelter)
Saturday, April 29th from 10AM to 1PM
Indiana Dunes Lovers: Take a #CityNatureChallenge fungi stroll Saturday 4/29, 10-1 at the Indiana Dunes State Park. If you have one, please bring your smartphone or other device, with the free iNaturalist app loaded. iNaturalist tips as well as fungi ID and info will be shared. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/citynaturechallenge-fungi-stroll-tickets-539588312167 

Mothing in Chesterton, Indiana
202 Jefferson Ave, Chesterton, IN
Sunday, April 30th from 8:30PM to 12AM (midnight)
Visit a backyard mothing station which will be set up with moth sheets with mercury vapor and black lights. Moths and other nocturnal insects will be easy to observe when they land on the sheets, and you'll be able to see their colors and patterns. Plus, bring a flashlight if you’d like to hunt the property for the reflective eyes of spiders. Stay for a few minutes or a few hours. For more information, contact Robert Hallock at rob.m.hallock@gmail.com.

Resources and Links

Learn more about the City Nature Challenge, using iNaturalist, and local biodiversity. If you live outside the project boundaries or can't participate during the City Nature Challenge, you can add your observations to iNaturalist at any time of year!

There are many ways to get involved in community science. Learn more below. 

How to Make an Observation on iNaturalist using our Mobile App from iNaturalist on Vimeo.

Partners

These organizations are helping organize the City Nature Challenge 2023: Chicagoland Region: 

City Nature Challenge 2023 logos, Chicago Park District, Chicago Wilderness Alliance, Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, Illinois Science Council, Forest Preserve District of Will County, The Nature Conservancy, Chicago Ornithological Society logos 

Contact

Interested in helping with regional organizing or have a question about the Chicagoland Region project? Contact cassi saari (Chicago Park District). Other questions or comments abou the global City Nature Challenge can be directed to the international organizers.