City Nature Challenge is a global effort to record as much wildlife data as possible over one weekend. Wildlife recording is vital for conservation efforts so getting involved in the challenge is a wonderful way to do your bit for conservation. It’s also a fantastic way to learn about the natural world around you. You don’t need to be an expert, all the recording is done via a free app, iNaturalist, and they have a team of experts on hand to help you identify what you’ve found.
To learn a bit more, take a look at this video from the Natural History Consortium. And if you’re looking for inspiration of where to go and what you might spot, in this short film, Bathscape Manager, Dan Merrett shows us the diversity of wildlife you can spot in Bath’s urban parks. Have a look at our City Nature Challenge mindfulness trail in Carr’s Wood as well.
Local artist Marian Hill has created some wonderful resources to mark City Nature Challenge. The poster will be up in some of the Parks, and you can download the insect and minibeast versions to use for yourselves (or both on one pdf here). These are some of the insects you’re most likely to see during the weekend. You could also try the minibeast hunt.
