Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
The City Nature Challenge began as a competition between two US cities in 2016. Since then it has become a global phenomenon, with over 100 000 people in 669 cities in 62 countries participating in 2025.
After a spectacular debut at the 2024 City Nature Challenge, York topped the UK Leaderboard again during the 2025 challenge, with an outstanding 1 881 species observed over just four days!
SEI York researcher Smriti Safaya has spearheaded York’s involvement, in partnership with others across the University of York. Discover what motivated here in this Q&A about the York City Nature Challenge.
The 2026 City Nature Challenge will take place 24 – 27 April 2026. Add your own observations of animals, plants and fungi via the free iNaturalist app, or join in a local event.
Research shows that spending time in nature is good for people’s well-being and encourages people to take more positive action for the environment
Smriti Safaya, SEI York Affiliated Researcher
Add your own observations of animals, plants and fungi or join any of the many YCNC events across York. See the YCNC website for details of events in 2026 and instructions on how to use the free app, iNaturalist, to record wildlife around you.
Feature / Smriti explains how York residents can contribute to this international event by recording wildlife they see and why she is passionate about citizen science.
Project / Working to co-create a toolkit with UK-based teachers to deliver practical and investigative projects that integrate citizen science into their lessons.
Project / Investigating if and how hands-on experiences with nature impact values, attitudes and pro-environmental behaviour amongst secondary school students.
