Cape Town: City residents and visitors are reminded to participate in 2025 City Nature Challenge by capturing photos of any plants or animals on their smart phones or cameras. Beginning from Friday, April 25, 2025 to Monday, April 28, 2025 where members of the public and city staff are encouraged to record and upload their observations on the iNaturalist app.
People from more than 2000 cities worldwide will be recording their local animals and plants next weekend. Considering which, Deputy Mayor and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment – Alderman Eddie Andrews said that this is the 10th anniversary of the City Nature Challenge and the theme for 2025 is ‘Bring the Globe Together for Biodiversity’.
The challenge is documenting the wildlife in Cape Town. All that is required of residents when contributing to an observation is to take a photo and upload it onto the iNaturalist app. Capetonians are spoilt for choice with an array of nature reserves and conservation areas. Access to City of Cape Town’s nature reserves will be free from April 25 until April 28, for the ones who are taking part in the challenge.
Once downloaded, ensure that you check your iNaturalist app regularly for updates ahead of the challenge next weekend. Schools, universities and social groups are encouraged to use this as an opportunity to facilitate, manage and support the student outdoor learning and exploitation in schoolyards, nearby parks or other green spaces.
There is no limit to the number of observations one can submit. Residents are encouraged to record as many wild plants and animals that they can find in nature reserves, suburbs, schools and gardens.
According to Eddie Andrews, in 2024, the City Nature Challenge saw over 83,000 people across 690 cities in 51 countries on all seven continents documenting more than 2.4 million wildlife observations. Out of these observations, 42,643 were done in Cape Town. I am confident that they can increase this count in 2025. He encouraged residents to put on their citizen scientist caps and to go out there to show off the local biodiversity to the world.