Join the City Nature Challenge!

This weekend marks the fifth annual City Nature Challenge. Texas Parks and Wildlife, through the Texas Nature Trackers program, is inviting all Texans to participate.

Beginning Friday, April 24th citizen scientists of any age can submit pictures of wild plants, animals and fungi through the iNaturalist mobile app.

And it's easy to do. Share observations of the natural world with an online community. You can identify what you've found or others can help you if you don't know.

Start by downloading iNaturalist for iOS or Android and setup your profile. Then all you have to do is get outside!

Step 1: Find something that fits the bill and take a picture of it using the iNaturalist app.

College student Brycen Anderson photographs an interesting flower in his backyard.

Step 2: The iNaturalist app walks you through the steps to upload your picture. 

You can identify what you've photographed or select from potential species matches if you aren't quite sure what you have.

Step 3: Once the upload is complete your Observation is listed under your profile.

Congratulations! You are now a citizen scientist. And you have all weekend to participate. The City Nature Challenge ends April 27th.

If you enjoyed learning about the City Nature Challenge, share this post and invite your friends to subscribe to Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine. For a limited time enjoy three months of unlimited digital access to more than 600 articles, plus our expanded 2020 Summer Issue – all for just $1.99!