About

Do you like observing nature? Then make your observations count! The City Nature Challenge is a 4-day, worldwide collaboration to get people observing the natural world through photography. Join the “CNC” in the final weekend of April every year!

Our Goals:

  1. Connect people to the Sonoran Desert

  2. Build community through collective action for local nature

  3. Make and share Sonoran species observations to help fight biodiversity loss

  4. Grow and support nature documentation globally

  5. Have fun doing science while collaborating with people around the world

The City Nature Challenge is organized on a global scale by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Academy of Sciences. 

See the Greater Phoenix local organizers and partners here.

Each year since their passing in 2022, we dedicate the Greater Phoenix City Nature Challenge to the memory of of Gwyn and Rowyn Balman.

Make an even bigger impact to community science by integrating iNaturalist with your SciStarter account.

The City Nature Challenge is just one of thousands of ways to volunteer for science. Create a free SciStarter account to save your favorite projects—including the City Nature Challenge!

SciStarter and global partners organize Citizen Science Month every year in April, and the CNC counts! Make sure all your observations are counted in the annual goal to do millions of “Acts of Science” during April:

  1. Create an iNaturalist account.

  2. Create a SciStarter account.

  3. Add your iNaturalist username to your SciStarter Settings under “Affiliation Integration.”

You only have to do this once and it works year round! Your SciStarter dashboard will keep track of all your hard work on all iNaturalist projects.