Belfast Joins Global ‘City Nature Challenge’

From 25–28 April 2025, residents of Greater Belfast will join over 650 cities worldwide in the City Nature Challenge, a friendly competition to record as many plant and animal species as possible.

Spearheaded locally by Wild Belfast, National Museums Northern Ireland, Buglife, and the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland, the four-day challenge aims to spotlight Belfast’s natural heritage while inspiring a deeper commitment to environmental care.

How and Why to Participate?
By simply downloading the iNaturalist app (ideally through your Play / App Store) and submitting wildlife observations, anyone can contribute to valuable biodiversity data.

Whether exploring Belfast’s parks on a walk picked through OutmoreNI or venturing out independently, every submitted photo helps scientists understand local species populations, improve conservation planning, and highlight the city’s evolving ‘green identity’.

With growing interest in public investments to protect the region’s biodiversity, this year’s event promises to strengthen Belfast’s reputation as a place where community and nature thrive together.

Free Online Workshop
To help get started, a free online session will be held on Wednesday, 16 April at 7:00 p.m.

Led by Rhonda Ridley, Curator of Botany at the National Museums Northern Ireland, the workshop will guide participants through using the iNaturalist app and offer tips on capturing and sharing observations effectively.

Secure a spot for the session here and get ready to discover the wildlife all around you—one photo at a time!