City Nature Challenge 2025
Join us for the 2025 City Nature Challenge! The observation period of the challenge is from April 25-28th, and we will have a full day of activities on April 26th to participate in the challenge together!
Join our staff as we participate in the 2025 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 to participate!
The City Nature Challenge is an international effort to document the living world around us that will be taking place from April 25th to May 4th, 2025. To get started, download iNaturalist for iPhone or Android and follow the prompts in-app to complete your account. You may want to read this guide for getting started. The CNC takes place in two phases, an observation phase and an identification phase:
Observation Phase (April 25 - April 28, 2025): Get outside and observe wild organisms around you! Take photos or record sounds of plants, animals, fungi, etc. (just not domesticated animals!). All observations within the 16-county greater Chattanooga region will automatically roll up to our project. Join our area-wide iNat project to see what’s been observed!
Identification Phase (April 29 - May 4, 2025): Help identify what was found. Use your expertise to identify organisms to species (or genus, if unclear).
Join our fun and free taxa-specific programs at Reflection Riding on Saturday, April 26th.
Bird Banding (8 AM - 12 PM): Join UTC ornithologist Dr. David Aborn to learn about migratory bird conservation while identifying birds and banding them.
Herpetology (9 AM - 12 PM): Join UTC herpetologist Dr. Tom Wilson as you search for reptiles and amphibians roaming the forest floor.
Pond Study (9 AM - 6 PM): Discover aquatic life in the ponds on our property with Elaine Pulliam, intern at City Water Quality.
Wildflower Walk (11 AM - 1 PM): Join our Lead Naturalist Ailani Ramirez-Pineda for a walk around our campus observing spring ephemerals.
Plants (1 PM - 2:30 PM): Join founder of WMWA Landscape Architects Matt Whittaker to observe and learn all about plants.
Birds and Herps (1:30 - 3 PM): Search for birds and herps (reptiles and amphibians) across our campus with Kevin Calhoun, Curator of Forests at the Tennessee Aquarium.
Mycology (3 - 5 PM): Search for mushrooms, lichens, and other fungal taxa with our Lead Naturalists, Ailani Ramirez-Pineda and Kayla Reeves.
Invertebrates (4 - 6 PM): Look for small invertebrates (like arachnids) along the forest floor with Naturalist Graham Wilson.
FrogWatch USA Training (6 - 7 PM): Conducted by Will Ternes of the Chattanooga Zoo, learn the calls of frogs and toads native to our region.
Frog Walk (7 - 9 PM): Search for frogs and toads on our campus with Will Ternes of the Chattanooga Zoo.
Moths (8 - 11:30 PM): Search for nocturnal moths with Bill Haley, former educator at the Tennessee Aquarium and volunteer.
Be sure to sign the release form below before attending a program. We can’t wait to observe the natural world with you!
These programs will happen outdoors, so be sure to dress for the weather, wear sturdy shoes, and bring anything you may need to enjoy time outdoors. In the event of severe weather, programs may have to be canceled.