North Texans are spending this weekend documenting the region’s wildlife and plants as part of the 11th annual City Nature Challenge, a global community science event running April 24–27.
The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is competing against hundreds of cities worldwide to record the most species observations using the iNaturalist app.
Organized locally with support from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Master Naturalists, the Nature Conservancy, and Audubon Society chapters, the challenge encourages residents to step outside, photograph wild plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms, and upload them for expert identification.
The City Nature Challenge began in 2016 as a friendly competition between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It has since grown into a worldwide effort involving hundreds of cities. Participants document biodiversity in urban and suburban environments, helping scientists track species distribution and responses to urban growth and environmental changes.
In North Texas, the DFW project includes organized bioblitz events in multiple locations, such as Richardson.
Last year, the DFW area ranked fifth globally in total observations out of more than 669 participating cities, per Richardson Today.
Anyone can participate by downloading the free iNaturalist app, taking clear photos of wild species in yards, parks, or trails, and submitting them during the four-day observation window.
Identifications continue through May 10, with final results announced May 13.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Texas Nature Trackers program coordinates the statewide effort. Officials say the challenge helps build a real-time picture of local biodiversity while connecting people with nature in their own neighborhoods.
Common North Texas sightings expected this spring include native wildflowers, birds such as scissor-tailed flycatchers and painted buntings, insects, reptiles, and small mammals, per Axios Dallas. Even backyard observations count, making the event accessible to all ages and abilities.
The data collected contributes to global scientific databases and supports conservation planning. Observations help researchers monitor how species adapt to climate shifts and habitat changes in rapidly growing urban areas like DFW.
Participation is open to everyone in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Organizers emphasize photographing wild organisms only — not pets, garden plants, or captive animals — and following Leave No Trace principles.
The challenge runs through midnight Monday, April 27. North Texas participants can join the dedicated DFW project on iNaturalist to have their observations counted toward the local total.
