Published on April 14, 2021 • Last updated on July 30th, 2022

Houston-Galveston City Nature Challenge 2021

Read the next blog for basics of City Nature Challenge & Deer Park Prairie being open on May 1, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. to CNC participants.

Below is information about the Houston-Galveston City Nature Challenge from Jaime Gonzalez, Houston Healthy Cities Program Director, of The Nature Conservancy, Texas Chapter – Houston Office:

“We are very excited to be just about two weeks away from this year’s global City Nature Challenge (April 30-May 3, 2021)!

Don’t let the title fool you. Yes, we absolutely want to observe and record species in our wonderful cities – like Houston and Galveston – but you can do this even in much of the countryside and seascapes surrounding our cities – we are all in this together (see the map… to see what counts in the Houston-Galveston region)!

[Note: to sign up for the Houston-Galveston City Nature Challenge Team:

Go to iNaturalist.org
Sign up or sign in
Then go to https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021-houston-galveston and click the “join” upper right]

This year, the Houston-Galveston City Nature Challenge Team (if you make observations in our region during CNC, you are on the team!) will join over 200+ Global Cities to observe, record, and identify the wildlife, plants life, and other living organisms of their regions using the amazing, free iNaturalist app. We will also be competing against other Texas regional teams, including the tough, talented team from Dallas-Fort Worth. This is real community science in action. The observations we make using the iNaturalist app can be used by scientists to track wildlife and plant populations and even plan habitat restorations that will benefit both them and humans.

Last year, even during the pandemic, our regional team set new records (see attached card). Lastly, we want you, your students, and your staff to be absolutely Covid Safe. Click here for some helpful hints on staying safe. Also, make sure to adhere to your local social distancing/masking guidelines and recommendations.

Below, please find resources to help you learn more about and engage your students with the City Nature Challenge and the iNaturalist app, and to create your own campus or neighborhood iNaturalist project that you can use during the City Nature Challenge and beyond! If you have any questions, need any resources, or want to share events or activities, please do not fail to contact me, Suzanne Simpson with Bayou Land Conservancy, or Nicole Temple from the Houston Museum of Natural Science – your regional co-coordinators