Stripe-eyed Lagoon Fly. Picture: iNaturalist
Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is participating in the 2024 City Nature Challenge and is inviting Capetonians and visitors to the city to participate.
The City hopes that this will show people around the world that Cape Town is one of the most biodiverse cities on the planet.
From Friday, 26 April 2024, to Monday, 29 April 2024, members of the public and City staff are encouraged to record their observations of local plant and animal species and stand a chance to win exclusive prizes.
Deputy Mayor and Mayco Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Eddie Andrews: “The City Nature Challenge is about documenting all the wildlife in our city. All that is required of residents when contributing an observation is to take a photo and upload it onto the iNaturalist app.
“Volunteers from over 2 000 cities worldwide will be recording their animals and plants over four days at the end of April. This is your opportunity to be part of the mammoth record taking of our local biodiversity,” said Andrews.
Residents in Cape Town are spoilt for choice with an array of nature reserves and conservation areas.
Pedestrian access to the City’s nature reserves will be free from 26 April until 29 April 2024 for those taking part in the challenge.
The City Nature Challenge started in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2016 (Los Angeles won). In 2017 it went national in the USA, and in 2018 it went international.
Cape Town, being among the most biodiverse places on earth, joined the challenge from 2019. In 2023, 31 Southern African cities took part.
“Last year Cape Town submitted a staggering 53 051 observations during the event, documenting 3 592 species, from 1 286 observers. This great effort saw us placed second in the number of observations and fourth in the number of species globally.
“This is an amazing achievement. Our challenge going forward is to increase the number of people participating, and inspiring Capetonians to get even more involved,” added Andrews.
For a list of all of the City's reserves and details about their location, facilities and attractions, please visit: https://bit.ly/3fbddE2
To get started, one needs:
Once downloaded please ensure that you check your iNaturalist app regularly for updates as the challenge approaches the weekend of April 26 to 29.
Schools, universities and social groups are encouraged to use this as an opportunity to facilitate, manage and support student outdoor learning and exploration in schoolyards, nearby parks or other green spaces.
There is no limit to the amount of observations one can submit. One can record as many wild plants and animals that they can find in nature reserves, suburbs, schools and gardens.
For information about the City Nature Challenge, visit:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-city-of-cape-town and the following Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/iNatureZA
Or alternatively, please contact Eleanor Hutchings at Eleanor.Hutchings@capetown.gov.za or Tony Rebelo at t.rebelo@sanbi.org.za