City Nature Challenge 2024
Join us for the 2024 City Nature Challenge! The observation period of the challenge is from April 26-29th, and we will have a full day of activities on April 27th to participate in the challenge together!
Join our staff as we participate in the 2024 City Nature Challenge along with over 500 cities worldwide! The City Nature Challenge is an international effort for people to find and document plants and wildlife in cities across the globe. It’s a bioblitz-style competition where cities compete to see who can make the most observations of nature, who can find the most species, and who can engage the most people.
Want to get started? It’s easy!
The City Nature Challenge is an international effort to document nature in cities that will be taking place from April 26th to May 5th, 2024. The CNC takes place in two phases; an observation phase and then an identification phase.
Download iNaturalist for iPhone or Android. Follow the prompts in-app to get set up. You may want to read this “Getting Started” guide as well.
Get out and observe wild organisms from April 26th - April 29th, 2024: Take pictures (or record sounds!) of wild plants and animals.
All observations within the 16-county greater Chattanooga region will automatically roll up to our project. Feel free to join the project to stay on top of what’s been observed.
April 20th - May 5th, 2023: help to identify what was found. We have another project collecting observations that still need identification. Join the “needs id” project if you’d like to help.
Join our fun and free events at Reflection Riding on Saturday, April 27th.
8:00 am - 9:00 am: Bird watching - We will be hosting a group hike focused on bird identification using both the Merlin app and the iNaturalist app. Reflection Riding can provide binoculars for up to 15 people if you don’t have your own.
8:30 am - 10:30 am: Live trapping for mammals - Join Dr. Timothy Gaudin as he checks his traps for mammals at Reflection Riding. Learn about some of our smaller mammals and what they require for survival. Don’t forget to log all observations on iNaturalist!
8:30 am - 12:00 pm: Bird banding demonstration - Join Dr. David Aborn as he checks his nets for both common and migratory birds at Reflection Riding. This research is vital in collecting information about bird distributions, populations, and migratory patterns. This will also give you the opportunity to see birds up close and get great pictures. Don’t forget to log all observations on iNaturalist!
9:00 am - 12:00 pm: In partnership with the Chattanooga Zoo for our Party for the Planet, teams of volunteers will be collecting trash on Lookout Creek using our canoes. Sign up ahead of time here.
9:00 am - 12:00 pm: In partnership with the Chattanooga Zoo for our Party for the Planet, teams of volunteers can help us remove the invasive species Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense). Sign up ahead of time here.
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm: We will be opening the use of canoes up for the general public to volunteer to clean up Lookout Creek.
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: We will be hosting a group hike focused on using iNaturalist to identify trees.
2:00 pm-3:00 pm: We will be hosting a group hike focused on using iNaturalist to identify flowering plants.
6:00 pm -10:00 pm: Spend your evening at our Campfire Concert listening to Luke Simmons & the Lovestruck. Tickets are sold separately here.
9:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Frog walk - Join a Reflection Riding Naturalist on a walk around our ponds looking for and listening to frogs. We will record the sounds and log them on iNaturalist.
These programs will happen outdoors, so don't forget to dress for the weather, wear sturdy shoes and bring along anything else you might need to enjoy time outdoors in this season. In the event of severe weather, programs may have to be cancelled and refunds offered.