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City Nature Challenge

Virginia

A young girl crouches down next to a tall leafy plant to take a photo with her cell phone.
Bioblitz A girl takes a photograph of a species of plant to upload to iNaturalist. © Devan King/TNC
Event Overview

Calling all nature lovers and community scientists across the commonwealth!

From April 25 - 28, 2025, join Virginians and others around the world for the 2025 City Nature Challenge! Don’t let the word “city” fool you—observations can be made anywhere, including your own backyard.

Explore the opportunities below to learn how you can get involved. Hone your iNaturalist skills or enjoy a guided hike led by TNC staff and volunteer naturalists. Help add to our knowledge of the biodiversity in our urban spaces.

We will be updating this page throughout the month of April with local events in your community. Stay tuned!

Visit our Volunteer page to find information about additional opportunities to connect with nature, from watershed cleanups to collecting eelgrass.

Guided Hikes and Outings

Fernbrook Preserve Bioblitz

Friday, April 25

9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Burnt Mill Road, Charlottesville, VA

Register

Sugar Hill Tree Identification Hike at the Clinch River State Park

Friday, April 25th

1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

St. Paul's Oxbow Lake Park

Register by contacting Melina Turner at  melina.Turner@dcr.virginia.gov

Bird Outing at Riverview Park

Saturday, April 26

7:30 - 9:30 a.m.

1909 Chesapeake Street, Charlottesville, VA

Register

Frog & Amphibian Walk

Saturday, April 26

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Bentivar Farm Road, Charlottesville, VA

Register

Longleaf Pine Seedling Planting

Saturday, April 26

1:30 - 4:30 p.m.

9243 General Mahone Highway, Waverly, VA

Register

Open Farm Day

Saturday, April 26

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Brownsville Preserve, 11332 Brownsville Rd, Nassawadox, VA

More information

Fernbrook Preserve Moth Night

Saturday, April 26

7:30 - 9:00 p.m. 

Burnt Mill Road, Charlottesville, VA

Register

Breaks Interstate Park Nature Hike

Saturday, April 26

2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Breaks Interstate Park Visitor Center

Register by contacting Colleen Turner at cturner@breakspark.com

Brumley Mountain Mushroom Hike

Sunday, April 27

2:00 - 5:00 p.m.

7720 Hayters Gap Rd, Abindgdon, VA

Register

Walking with Wildflowers at Hungry Mother State Park

Sunday, April 27

9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Boat Ramp off Mitchell Valley Road

Register by contacting Avery Smith at Avery.Smith@dcr.virginia.gov

Fungus Among Us at Hungry Mother State Park

Sunday, April 27

1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Picnic Shelter 2 

Register by contacting Avery Smith at Avery.Smith@dcr.virginia.gov

 

Participating in the City Nature Challenge is easy:

  1. From April 25-28, 2025, find wildlife or plants in your community—or even in your own backyard.
  2. Take a picture!
  3. Join a project near you, and share your observations through iNaturalist, an app that allows community members to record what they see in nature and interact with other nature enthusiasts.

*No iNaturalist project nearby? No problem! It's not necessary to contribute to a project to enjoy using the app. Making and identifying observations are by far the most important part of iNaturalist.

Macro, upside-down view of a brown spider.
Woodlouse Spider (Dysdera crocata) One of the first observations of the 2019 City Nature Challenge, spotted at 12:05 a.m. © Deborah Barber

Explore Your World

There are many ways to look for nature in your home or backyard.

Discover the plants that are growing on their own and the insects and pollinators that live in and around our homes and yards. You never know what you might find!

HOW TO FIND INSECTS

Insects are probably some of the easiest organisms to find in and around our homes, since they’re abundant and incredibly diverse! But where should you look to find them? What can you use to catch them?

These sites provide some guidance on how to find and temporarily hold insects. Be sure to release them after you've posted your observation on iNaturalist!

MOTH LIGHTING

Setting up a light and a sheet to attract moths is a simple and easy way to bring more nature into your backyard. Photographing moths on the sheet is easy, and you’ll definitely attract other flying insects as well!

Science Friday has a great set of instructions for observing moths, and the Devon Wildlife Trust's video shows how to build your own moth light to attract a wider variety of moths. (Note: In the video, "torch" is British for flashlight.)

Join the Challenge

Explore more City Nature Challenge resources or join an iNaturalist project near you.

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