The City Nature Challenge is back this year and several South African cities have been invited to join; City of Cape Town won in 2019.
Stellenbosch, South Africa (26 April 2022) – The City Nature Challenge has been brought to South Africa again this year and residents of several cities are being invited to take part in the week long activities to help discovery and document all the animals, plants and interesting organisms within those areas.
The Stellenbosch Municipality is calling on all residents of the municipal area (WC024) to participate in the City Nature Challenge (CNC). This is the first time that the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek regions have been nominated to participate in this global challenge.
The Challenge takes place in two parts: From 29 April – 2 May participants can take pictures of plants, animals, marine life, fungi, interesting organisms etc. within the Stellenbosch area. Then, from 29 April – 8 May, uploading and identification of these photos will take place. This is a fun and interactive way of exploring our rich natural heritage, getting some fresh air and learning about the environment around us.
This year, several South African cities/regions are taking part in the City Nature Challenge. Six of these cities/regions are in the Western Cape: Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Overstrand, Southern Overberg, West Coast, and the Garden Route. Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, eThekwini, and Tshwane have also been invited to join this year. You can see the full list here.
The City Nature Challenge is a friendly ‘competition’ among cities across the globe to see which city can find and document the most wildlife over a four-day period. The City of Cape Town participated in the 2019 event and won the category for most species observed out of 159 cities that participated worldwide.
All you need to do, is to register on the iNaturalist app. Then grab your cellphone or camera and begin taking photos of our rich fauna and flora! Birds, insects, plants, and all forms of life (apart from humans and pets) and then upload them to onto the database. This influx of information gives scientists, educators, urban planners and policy makers, valuable insight into the biodiversity of locations around the world.
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