WHAT:
Whip out a smartphone, download the free iNaturalist app, and instantly become a community scientist through the City Nature Challenge 2025 kicking off April 25.  

People of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities across the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area (King, Pierce and Snohomish counties) are invited to join the annual City Nature Challenge 2025, the largest bioblitz on the planet! The 10th annual City Nature Challenge will take place in more than 625 cities spanning 60 countries. 

The global nature observation event helps drive community science by encouraging everyone to find and document wildlife living outside their windows, in their backyard, on their windowsills, and in their neighborhoods and cities. Individuals can participate or take the kids outdoors and make it a family affair. Nature enthusiasts can take their involvement to the next level by helping identify people’s City Nature Challenge observations in iNaturalist. 

Last year’s Seattle-Tacoma City Nature Challenge broke a regional record with community scientists sharing 16,395 nature observations and identifying 1,868 species, showing the world the incredible biodiversity in the region’s home turf.  

WHEN:
City Nature Challenge takes place in two parts: 

Observe!
April 25–April 28 
Take and upload pictures of wild plants and animals 

Identify!
April 29–May 4 
Help identify what was found 

HOW:
It’s fun and simple! 

• Download the free iNaturalist app or access it on a computer. 
• Take photos of wild plants, animals and fungi anywhere in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties—your backyard, out your window, a city park—go explore! 
• Upload your photos to iNaturalist from your mobile device or via your computer. 
• Help identify as many observations as you can. 

Through a collaboration with the Empathy Collaborative, City Nature Challenge offers supporting resources in Chinese, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese: www.zoo.org/conservation/naturechallenge

EVENTS:
Visit www.zoo.org/conservation/naturechallenge/events: 

• Watch a zoo video on how to use the iNaturalist app to participate in City Nature Challenge. 
• Find out about City Nature Challenge meetups and join virtual and in-person sessions to learn how to observe nearby nature and share your observations.  
• Join your neighbors on one of many City Nature Challenge walks happening in the Seattle-Tacoma area.  

INFO:
www.zoo.org/conservation/naturechallenge

Woodland Park Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Seattle Parks and Recreation and other collaborators help mobilize people across the greater Seattle area to join a friendly nature observation challenge involving hundreds of cities across the globe.