Get to know your wild neighbors by being a part of the 2022 City Nature Challenge in Colorado Springs!
From April 29th- May 2nd, we invite you to explore our community’s biodiversity by identifying as many species of wildlife, birds, plants and bugs as possible within the city limits – that includes regional parks, open spaces, city parks and even your own backyard!
Participation is easy
- Download the FREE iNaturalist app. The app is free to download on the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android. You can also upload pictures taken with a camera on the iNaturalist website.
- Explore nature near you! If can be animals, plants, insects, scat, fur, trees... found anywhere in El Paso County or the Pikes Peak area.
- Take a picture and share your observations. Take and submit your photos through the iNaturalist app, or you can upload them manually to the iNaturalist website.
Members of the iNaturalist community will help with identification. It’s as simple as that!
For more information visit the iNaturalist website.
Who is participating?
More than 350 cities on six continents will be taking part in the Challenge in 2022. While this is a friendly nature “competition” between cities to see who can log the most observations and have the greatest participation, everyone is a winner in the end as we all learn more about the nature around us.
So join the 2022 City Nature Challenge and be part of a global effort to increase scientific knowledge while putting Colorado Springs on the map with the most field observations, greatest number of different species and highest number of participants!
Stay tuned for news and updates by following us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter @ CoSpringsParks.
Event schedule
City Nature Challenge - Guided Walk, April 29th, 3:15 – 4:45 pm:
Join Park Interpreter Nick Darling for a guided nature into the park while learning about the park’s ecology, geology, and history. To celebrate the start of the City Nature Challenge, we will also be making recordings of the plant and animal life we see along the way through the iNaturalist app. Bring water and appropriate footwear and clothing for the weather. The hike will be approximately 2 miles long on a paved trail, and will last approximately 1.5 hours. Meet at the flagpole outside the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center. Weather dependent.
Questions? Call (719) 219-0108.
Motorless Morning, April 30th, 5:00 am – 12:00 noon:
Motorless Morning will close the roads in the park to motor vehicles from 5 a.m.-noon, which makes it a great time to walk through the park and record wildlife that is not often seen. Visitors are typically able to hear more birds singing and notice more animals coming out of hiding when there are no cars driving through the park. More at ColoradoSprings.gov/MotorlessMorning.
BioBlitz – City Nature Challenge, May 1st, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Help us record all the living creatures in the park for the 2022 City Nature Challenge! Stop by our table in the downstairs lobby of the Visitor and Nature Center by yourself or with a group and get assigned a section of trail in the park to complete. Download the iNaturalist app to record your sightings and get help identifying species you don’t know. This data helps scientist monitor the health of the plants and animals and even discover new species in our park! Come back to our table after you’ve completed your trail for a prize!
Scavenger Hunt – City Nature Challenge, May 2nd, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Help us record all the living creatures in the park for the 2022 City Nature Challenge! Stop by our table in the downstairs lobby of the Visitor and Nature Center by yourself or with a group and pick up our scavenger hunt of plants and animals to record in the park. Download the iNaturalist app to record your sightings and get help identifying species you don’t know. This data helps scientist monitor the health of the plants and animals and even discover new species in our park! Come back to our table after you’ve completed your scavenger hunt for a prize!