Chicagoland Region Highlights

• Top 10 globally in number of observers
• Top 40 for total number of observations
• View the 2026 Chicagoland Region results on iNaturalist

Organizations that Hosted City Nature Challenge: Chicagoland Region Events

Thanks to our partners who invited people outdoors to better understand the nature found in our communities.

• Chicago Park District: Bioblitz and UV Hike at West Ridge Nature Park; BioBlitz at Kilbourn Park Greenhouse; Osterman Beach Natural Area Stewardship
• Dundee Township Park District: Party for the Planet, Celebrate Earth Day with Randall Oaks Zoo
• Edgewater Environmental Coalition
• Field Museum: City Nature Challenge at Rice Native Gardens and ID Event
• Forest Preserves of Cook County: Morning Bird Stroll; Wolf Road Prairie Volunteer Workday; Wildflower Walk at River Trail Nature Center
• Friends of the Forest Preserves: Eggers Grove Bio Blitz
• Friends of Fred Rose Park: Nature Walk
• Glen Ellyn Park District: Earth Week City Nature Challenge at Lake Ellyn Park and Churchill Park
• Illinois Science Council
• Land Conservancy of McHenry County: Intro to iNaturalist & Nature Walk; City Nature Challenge Bioblitz at Irish Oaks Savanna
• National Park Service: Nature in Your Backyard: Pullman National Historical Park
  
• Town of Munster, IN: Earth Day Celebration 2026: Our Community and Those Who Will Inherit It
• University of Illinois Extension: Spring Ephemeral Walk: U of I Extension Master Naturalists of DuPage, Kane & Kendall Counties

---

Global Events and 2026 Highlights

• 100,000 observers
• 50,000 species recorded in 4 days
• 5,688 rare, endangered, or threatened species documented (2,000 more than last year)
• 70+ species recorded for first time on iNaturalist
• Events in 6 continents and 61 countries

Learn about the global City Nature Challenge, where cities around the world collaborate to share observations of nature. This year's focus is quality additions of wild species to iNaturalist. 

View cities worldwide participating in the City Nature Challenge 2026. 

---

Help for Educators and Organizations

Need ideas for engaging people in community science and nature exploration? Check out the iNaturalist Educators' Guide. 

Your Data Matters

Knowing what species are in our city and where they are helps us study and protect them, but the only way to do that is by all of us–scientists, land managers, and the community–working together to find and document the nature in our area.

---

Resources and Links

About the City Nature Challenge

• Learn about the global City Nature Challenge
• View previous years of the City Nature Challenge: Chicagoland Region in 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017

Using iNaturalist

• iNaturalist Frequently Asked Questions, video tutorials, and Teachers' Guide
• iNaturalist Bioblitz Guide
• How to use the iNaturalist app (video, 1.5 minutes)
• How to upload photos to the iNaturalist website (video, 3 minutes)
• How to use iNaturalist’s Identify page (video, 2.5 minutes)
• Help identify observations in the Chicago Wilderness Alliance region
• How to mark an observation as captive/cultivated (video, <1 minute)

Other Resources 

• Cafe: How to Host a City Nature Challenge Event (March 2026); recording and slides
• Presentation on iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge (2021): recording and slides
• Community science projects in Illinois (The Nature Conservancy)
• Discover the biodiversity of Chicago Wilderness (iNaturalist project)

Make an observation on iNaturalist using the mobile app from iNaturalist on Vimeo.

2026 Partners

Questions or to join the partners of the City Nature Challenge:Chicagoland Region, contact Taran Lichtenberger, Community Science Programs Manager, Chicago Botanic Gardens. Questions or comments about the global City Nature Challenge can be directed to the international organizers.