The city and school district are challenging Richmond residents to become “citizen scientists” and record plants and animals living around them.
The City Nature Challenge runs from April 25 to 28 and is a global initiative that encourages “friendly competition” between cities to record photos and sounds of natural phenomena.
All taxa are allowed except domestic cats, domestic dogs and humans.
How to participate
To participate, download the free iNaturalist app on a mobile device from inaturalist.ca.
Then join the Richmond community project page "City Nature Challenge 2025: Richmond, BC".
Turn on location data and use the app while recording photos and sounds of wild plants and animals in Richmond between Friday, April 25 and Monday, April 28.
Once residents upload photos, they can receive feedback from scientists, experts and other naturalists who will help identify each observation.
All Richmond residents who participate will have three chances to win a City of Richmond reusable street banner bag.
Four banner bags will go to randomly drawn participants, three will go to three participants with the most observations, and three will go to three participants with the most species observed.
During and after the event, participants can view the community’s progress on the Richmond Project page to see what was discovered.
Results of all findings will be released on Monday, May 5.
Those interested can also track the results of other Canadian cities through a national initiative hosted by the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
Last year, Richmond entered 1,792 observations, including red-winged blackbirds, Dungeness crabs, the Oregon grape plant and the seaside pea plant.
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