Join the City Nature Challenge!
The challenge is an opportunity to share biodiversity information and for people in urban areas to help each other learn about nature. It also includes all sightings within the eThekwini Municipality.
ARE you ready to embark on a thrilling adventure to discover the hidden wonders of your city’s flora and fauna?
The Biodiversity Management Unit is urging residents to join fellow nature enthusiasts, curious beginners and passionate scientists in the City Nature Challenge which combines collaboration and friendly competition to explore urban biodiversity. The challenge takes place from April 26 to April 29.
Run by iNATURALIST, an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information, the City Nature Challenge has over 250 cities signed up in more than 40 countries and is an opportunity to share biodiversity information, and for people in urban and metro areas to help each other learn about nature.
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According to Glenwood resident and biodiversity enthusiast Crispin Hemson, the City Nature Challenge is an opportunity for people to go out there and identify species of any kind that are present in our environment, not only indigenous species but also alien species.
“We need to record what’s happening in our environment; we need to track how species change over time, how they spread or don’t spread, and we need to identify whether they are vulnerable or endangered species,” said Hemson.
Hemson encourages Durban residents to join in on the fun. “In different parts of Durban, because of Durban’s amazing biodiversity, we find rare trees – not only trees but birds, mammals, insects and butterflies. We’re only starting to uncover the complete diversity because people don’t focus on, for example, tiny insects.”
In your own backyard
“The challenge also encourages people to take a look in their own gardens as they could find an unusual butterfly, fly or carpenter bee – there is a whole range of various insects which attract birdlife. In Durban, you can go to Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve, Durban Botanic Gardens or, again, your own garden,” said Hemson.
He invites first-time participants to join him and his friends on Friday for a tutorial. “On Friday, April 26, we will be meeting at Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve at 08:00, and the ‘Friends of Pigeon Valley’ will be shown how to do it.”
“The City Nature Challenge is on an international system, but we compete against other cities in South Africa. Durban has the potential to do very well. We have the opportunity, through this challenge, to bring people into an awareness of nature and the range of species and life around us and to understand what’s happening with that life. This information can be used by people to understand and appreciate what’s around us,” said Hemson.
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He offered his advice to first-time participants: “My advice: Record whatever you see – even if you think that it’s something common, it can be logged. You look at a piece of grass even if you don’t know what kind of grass it is, load it and log it and someone else will be able to identify it for you. It involves a lot of collaboration between people. Don’t worry about getting the identifications correct. iNaturalist is a community-based platform, and as long as the observation is given a common name, such as grasshopper or plant, someone can find it and assist.”
The challenge includes all sightings within eThekwini Municipality. Visit: https://www.inaturalist.org/. There are video tutorials as well as forum discussions on how to use iNaturalist. Your app store will also offer the iNaturalist App (Apple and Android).
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