More than 700 communities around the world will participate in the City Nature Challenge this weekend, including Johnson County and Polk County. It’s a four-day long event that starts Friday and concludes at midnight on Monday, during which time volunteers take photos of any “WILD plants and animals in backyards, in parks, along city streets, [and] on school grounds” in their communities.
Anyone with a smartphone can participate. All you need to do is download the free iNaturalist app, It is available for both iPhone and Android.
This is the second time the University of Iowa Office of Sustainability and the Environment is coordinating its local effort. In 2022, the office had focused on just one city for the City Nature Challenge — Iowa City. This time, the scope has expanded to take in all of Johnson County.
“We encourage people to go out — in their yards, in their parks, at their school, anywhere — to observe and take photos,” Beth MacKenzie, Sustainability Program manager for the office, told Little Village.
After taking photos, you just need to use the iNaturalist app to upload to your community project’s iNaturalist page. Volunteer experts will evaluate the photos and identify the species in them. The results will be posted online for everyone to see.
In Johnson County there will be an information session about the project and using the app at the Conservation Education Center in Kent Park near Oxford (2048 Hwy 6 NW).
“And then folks will be able to go out and explore a little bit at Kent Park,” MacKenzie said. “Weather permitting.”
Kent Park is 1,052 square acres of forest, lakes and prairie, and one of most picturesque county parks in the state.
The Blank Park Zoo has helped to coordinate the Greater Des Moines portion of the City Nature Challenge since 2022. This year, volunteers are encouraged to explore Jester Park in Granger (12130 NW 128th St).
Jester Park is 1,661 acres of nature and facilities along the western edge of Saylorville Lake.
Of course, MacKenzie’s last two words — weather permitting — maybe the most important ones this weekend in both Johnson and Polk counties’ forecasts calls for rain during much of the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday, however, looks clear.
The City Nature Challenge grew out of the long-standing rivalry between Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 2016, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and the California Academy of Science in San Francisco challenged each other to see which institution could turn out more local residents for a weekend of documenting local species. Since then, the challenge has expanded worldwide.
“Our goal is to continue doing this year after year, so we’ll be able to see changes over time and understand a little bit more about our biodiversity,” MacKenzie said.
