Held for the first time in 2016 as a citizen-science competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the City Nature Challenge is now organised worldwide every year. This is the third time that Vienna is taking part, and for the first time the Natural History Museum Vienna has taken on the task of organising it. In this context, the NHM Vienna will present and represent the CNC Vienna to the outside world, offer its taxonomic expertise for the identification of the organisms documented and summarise the results. The aim is to observe and document as many wild animals, plants and fungi as possible in the city, as well as to explore the biodiversity found in a big city such as Vienna and to heighten common and individual awareness and knowledge of biodiversity.
 
The City Nature Challenge Vienna 2022 will be organised via the www.inaturalist.org platform. The programme is available as an app for download to the phone and it can also be accessed through the website.
 
Observing nature: how can you join in?

• Look for wild animals, plants, fungi and lichen on your doorstep: the focus is primarily on plants that have colonised the urban environment without human intervention, as well as free-living, non-domestic animals.

• Between 29 April and 2 May 2022, take photos with a smartphone within the city limits of Vienna and upload them via iNaturalist (through the phone app or via the website). The aim is to digitally document as many wild species as possible via photos.

• The iNaturalist platform is also equipped to identify the species found and it provides suggestions for identification. The participants do not need to be knowledgeable about the species they document.

• Experienced experts are also cordially invited to contribute to the identification of the species on the uploaded photos!

 
The www.inaturalist.org platform presents photos from all over Austria and the world over and invites users to help identify the species documented.
 
A total of 12 Austrian cities and regions are taking part this year: Vienna, St. Pölten, Linz, Graz, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, Innsbruck, Krems and the Wachau, Waidhofen an der Ybbs, Neusiedler Marchfeld, Nationalpark Gesäuse. The City Nature Challenge constitutes a bridge between science and society, but also between different regions of the world.
 
The data collected are an important contribution to science and the conservation of species!
 
Links:
https://www.citynaturechallenge.at/
https://www.inaturalist.org/