City Nature Challenge

Welcome to the City Nature Challenge 2026

Join us for City Nature Challenge 2026, the first to be run in Exeter!

Over the weekend of the 24th-27th April 2026, record wildlife you see in our beautiful city, to contribute to one of the biggest community science events in the world. You can contribute by taking photos or sound recordings of wild plants and animals, or by helping to identify other people's records. The identification period where you can upload your records and verify other people’s photographic records is between April 28th - May 10th 2026. We are recording our wildlife using iNaturalist - a free recording app available on both Android and IOS devices.

Our project page is all set up and ready here -

We are planning events during the weekend at the University campus and across the city which we will share on this page and on the project journal.

Events happening

Friday 24th April

08:00-09:30 Moth trapping, meet at the Forum, Streatham Campus TBC
10:30-11:30 Bird walk on campus, meet near the astro turf pitches, Streatham Campus
13:00-14:00 Nature walk on campus, meet at the Forum, Streatham Campus
15:00-16:00 Pond dipping on campus, meet at Amory Building, Streatham Campus
16:30- 17:30 Nature walk in the Lower Hoopern Valley, meet at the accessible path opposite the end of Perry Road
20:00-21:30 Bat walk on Campus, meet outside the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies

Saturday 25th April

11:00 – 16:00 Drop in Scavenger hunt in the Lower Hoopern Valley – no need to book!
14:00-15:30 Nature Walk at Northbrook Park
Time TBC - Bat walk in the Lower Hoopern Valley – organised by
Time & location TBC - Bat walk in Exeter

Sunday 26th April

10:00-12:00 Bird walk at RSPB’s Bowling Green Marsh
11:00 - 12:30 Lichen walk at Mincinglake Valley Park
14:00-15:30 Nature walk with National Trust (open to all) - location TBC

Monday 27th April

11:00-12:30 Flower visiting insects on campus – location TBC
16:00-17:30 Lichens on Streatham Campus, meet near Reed Hall Car park

Wednesday 29th April

10:00-14:00 Come and help identify local wildlife from camera trap footage and see which furry visitors have passed by, from shy deer and curious foxes to elusive badgers. We will be in the Forum (w3w ///goat.medium.limes). No need to book - just come and join us!

Past events

Tuesday 17th March, 12:30-13:30 ?Peter Chalk Seminar Room 2.4 – How to use iNaturalist
Tuesday 17th March 17:00 – 18:00 Seminar Room 10 (Forum) – How to use iNaturalist

Biodiversity Recording Resources

If you’re new to wildlife recording, there are many useful tools and guides to help you get started.

Getting Started with iNaturalist

provides clear guidance for beginners, including how to upload observations and make valuable contributions to biodiversity datasets.

iNaturalist and UK Biological Recording

Many UK recorders use iRecord, but good?quality iNaturalist observations will also flow into the UK’s national recording databases. More information is available on the .

To help ensure your observations can be used by the UK’s National Biodiversity Network, guidance on producing high?quality records is available .

Tips for Taking Verifiable Wildlife Photos

Some species are easier to identify than others, and each taxonomic group has key features that experts need to see. The resources below explain what to include in your photos:

Plants - the (BSBI) offers advice on how to take useful plant photographs for identification.
Fungi - fungi can be difficult to identify from photos alone, but the RHS "" project provides helpful guidance.
Bumblebees - detailed advice on photographing bumblebees to support accurate identification can be found .
Birds and Mammals - for these groups, sound recordings are often extremely helpful and can be uploaded alongside photos. Tracks and other field signs, such as footprints, can also be recorded if they are clearly identifiable.

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