City Nature Challenge
April 24 to 27, 2026
You can support biodiversity by documenting the huge variety of species that call our municipality home. The City Nature Challenge is an annual bioblitz where cities around the world compete to make the most observations of nature in a single weekend. The focus is on wild plants, animals, fungi, bugs, and more.
All you need to do is make an observation on iNaturalist using photos or sound recordings between April 24 and April 27, 2026. Then upload and identify by May 10, 2026. Please don’t include photos from gardens, zoos, museums, or your pets!
Get involved by registering for one of our events below or by participating on your own, with friends, or family.
Find any wild living thing
Take a picture
Share on iNaturalist
Guided Walk in Lynn Canyon Park
Saturday, April 25 from 10:30 to 11:30 am
Sunday, April 26 from 10:30 to 11:30 am
Bring the whole family for a hands-on bioblitz adventure with the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre! Discover the amazing plants, animals, and fungi of Lynn Canyon Park while testing your nature knowledge using iNaturalist. All ages. By donation, supporting the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre.
Guided Walk in Blueridge
Sunday, April 26 from 11 to 12 pm
Sunday, April 26 from 1 pm to 2 pm
Join the District of North Vancouver’s Urban Forestry and Natural Areas team for a guided nature walk as part of the City Nature Challenge. Start on the Baden Powell trail and continue along the Berkley Loop while identifying and documenting forest plants, fungi, and animals. All ages. Free.
How to Participate:
- Download the free iNaturalist app to your mobile device and set up your profile.
- On the Projects tab, search for District of North Vancouver, and join the City Nature Challenge 2026: District of North Vancouver project. This step is optional – all observations during the project dates will automatically be counted, but joining the project can help you stay up to date and follow other participants.
- Take photos of wild plants and animals wherever you feel comfortable to observe nature.
Posting Observations
Learn how to make and add an observation and a whole lot more by checking out the iNaturalist getting started guide.
- Location of the observation is important, so if you have your phone’s location data turned off you will need to add the location manually.
- If it’s not wild (e.g. a garden plant, domestic pet or farm animal) be sure to mark the observation as captive/cultivated.
- As you gain experience, feel free to help identify other people’s observations.
Other Metro Vancouver Events
Guided Walk
Tynehead Regional Park, Surrey
Saturday, April 25 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Join the FRDC for a guided nature walk around Tynehead Regional Park. During this guided nature walk, discover amazing ferns, towering trees, fungus, and fantastical birds while using the iNaturalist app.
Free. All ages.
Bioblitz at Beaver Lake
Stanley Park, Vancouver
Saturday, April 25 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Explore the forest surrounding the Beaver Lake wetland ecosystem while using the iNaturalist app. Staff and volunteers will be onsite to assist with species identification and teach you about the ecology of the surrounding ecosystems.
Free. All ages.
River Basin Days: The Bug Files
ƛ̓éxətəm Regional Park, Coquitlam
Sunday, April 26 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm and 3 to 4 pm
Join the FRDC and NatureKidsBC at ƛ̓éxətəm Regional Park for this month’s River Basin Days. Explore the secrets of the insect word, investigating insect strength, benefits, and habitats! Learn about amazing insects around the Fraser River by exploring their hidden world while making observations through the iNaturalist app!
Free. For families with kids ages 5-12.
