2026 City Nature Challenge Results
Another SPECTACULAR win for CITIZEN SCIENCE and the San Antonio Metro Area !!!
City Nature Challenge is
an attempt to catalog all living things in Planet Earth... and so much more !
Learn more about the CNC here
One of the 12-county San Antonio Metro Area's goal for CNC 2026 was to have 10 individuals capture >600 species. Quite ambitious .... but in fact, 14 individuals did just this. The top observer recorded 870 species !!!!!
The below quotes gleaned from their iNaturalist profiles shows that the CNC is not 'just a competition' and
iNaturalist is not 'just another app' for your phone.
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'" The City Nature Challenge has changed the way I see the world—honestly, it’s changed me.
What started as a simple effort to log observations has turned into a deeper awareness of everything living around me. I’ve learned to slow down, to notice, and to appreciate the incredible diversity that exists right outside my door. Every plant, insect, bird, and fungus has a role—and now I actually see that.
iNaturalist didn’t just give me a hobby—it gave me a lens. A way to connect, to learn, and to contribute. CNC, especially, has shown me that small individual actions—observations, identifications, planting choices—add up to something meaningful. " - SA Joe
"Grateful to iNaturalist for the color and enrichment it has added to my daily adventures as I learn more about the local flora and fauna." - E.M.
" I've always been a nature lover, but I still see little outdoor surprises all the time. Who knew that praying mantises will catch and eat a gecko? (It was news to me, anyway.) iNat is a fun way to nerd out with others and enjoy being in the natural world" - dontfencemein
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... YES, THIS IS WHAT CNC IS REALLY ABOUT
CNC celebrates a LIFESTYLE, an AWARENESS and a LOVE FOR NATURE ....
2026 RESULTS
Globally
https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/2026-final-results
Globally, more than 106,000 people across 754 cities and 61 countries took part, making CNC the largest community science event of its kind.
Our 12-county San Antonio Metro Area
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-san-antonio-metro-area
These rankings are for our area compared to EVERYONE who participated across the globe
2nd for species - 4,816
2nd for observations - 102,653
* 65% of these made the gold standard of "Research grade", a higher % than 1st & 2nd place
5th for observers - 1,879
3rd for identifiers - 1,731
What a great collaboration for SA Metro !!!!!!
We offer a SPECIAL THANKS to all who attended our talks and 5 (!) bioblitzes.
It’s quantity but also QUALITY. The biggest victory is for Citizen Science as SA Metro catalogued 69 at-risk species, 99 species found nowhere else, and 54 TX Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).
Let's keep up the momentum and continue sharing the iNaturalist and Seek mobile apps with others to continue cataloging all nature's creatures year-round : )
We love hearing from you!
Laura@Busy-Birding.com
830-328-2662
