The lockdown version of the City Nature Challenge will run from Friday, 24 April until Monday, 27 April 2020. To take part, participants simply have to upload their findings on the iNaturalist app.
You are encouraged to participate, because even when only the natural environment at our homes are considered, Cape Town remains one of the most biodiverse cities in the world. The weather forecast for the weekend is sunny, and the City Nature Challenge is an ideal opportunity for you to discover insects, plants, reptiles, and animals at your home, be it in a flat, or a garden.
‘We encourage residents to have fun with the lockdown City Nature Challenge this year. It is one way of keeping busy and a healthy distraction. All that is required from participants to take part is to download the iNaturalist app and to search for and record all plants that are growing on their own and the wild organisms that live in and around their houses and properties. Keep it simple, think big or small, whether it be plants in your garden; birds that are attracted to your property or even mosquitoes; spiders, snails or weeds. The goal is to ignite some interest in nature and the environment even during lockdown when we are all requested to stay at home, and inside. Those with gardens can turn a search for bugs into a mini adventure for the kids,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.
City Nature Challenge 2020 – a community building exercise
The City Nature Challenge will not be a competition this year, but rather a community building exercise during a period where most global cities are adhering to various lockdown restrictions in response to COVID-19. It is an opportunity for Capetonians and the rest of the world to take part in one challenge over the same weekend as they discover their natural environments at home.
‘I see this challenge as a means of connecting with some form of nature to relieve the stress and anxiety we are all facing at the moment. It is also a time to unite and collaborate with an interesting digital community of citizen and community scientists around the world. Residents can celebrate the simplicity of nature no matter where they are during the lockdown – be it from their gardens, balconies, windows, or any area which attracts some life,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
The City has created a helpful checklist of species commonly found in gardens and suburban areas during autumn in Cape Town. This can be downloaded from the iNaturalist website.
Some of the plants, birds, insects, reptiles and mammals that can be commonly found during Cape Town’s autumn season include the:
• Cape Honeysuckle and Bietou Bush flower;
• Red-Eyed Dove and Southern Double-collared Sunbird
• Cape Autumn Widow Butterfly
• House Mouse and Grey Squirrel
• Marbled Leaf-Toed Gecko
• Cape Rain Spider and the White Italian Snail
There are many ways to look for nature in your home and backyard – find insects by looking under rocks and logs, or create a ‘beat sheet’ by placing either a pan, sheet or box under a tree or bush to collect the flightless bugs that gather there.
WHAT: City Nature Challenge
WHEN: Friday, 24 April until Monday, 27 April 2020
HOW: In order to participate in the challenge, participants need to download the iNaturalist.com app, register and share their observations by uploading all their findings on the app. Observations can be recorded anywhere within the City of Cape Town borders. Participants also stand a chance to win some spot prizes.
Participants may record any plant, animal, fungi, slime, mould or any other evidence of life (scat, fur, tracks, shells, carcasses) found in Cape Town and should not forget to record the location of their findings.
‘I want to remind all to please adhere to the lockdown rules, and to participate in the City Nature Challenge from their homes,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
Please find the species checklist via the following link:
City Nature Challenge 2010 Checklist
The iNaturalist website also provides helpful tips on doing the challenge from home via the following link
INFO: contact Eleanor Hutchings at Eleanor.Hutchings@capetown.gov.za or Tony Rebelo at t.rebelo@sanbi.org.za or visit
See also Cape Town Green Map
