City Nature Challenge

Learn how to use iNaturalist to contribute to the City's biodiversity conservations goals.

Community science in action

Surrey's Natural Areas Partnership (SNAP) observing and recording nature at Newton Pond Park

City Nature Challenge

The City Nature Challenge is an annual event in April and May that highlights community science efforts in Surrey. 

Learn more about local plants and wildlife in Surrey as your observations are confirmed through the iNaturalist community. Residents, visitors and businesses can be part of that effort. Help Surrey’s biodiversity get recognized! 

2023 results

Synopsis: This past spring, we completed our fourth City Nature Challenge. With 43 cities participating we ranked 10th across Canada! Thank you to Surrey's iNaturalist community and the supporting identifiers who helped review 1,845 observations (equaling 437 species). We had over 200 more observations and 25 more species identified than in 2022!

Check out results for:

City Nature Challenge.
City Nature Challenge.
Canadian Wildlife Federation

Join Surrey’s iNaturalist community 

iNaturalist is the platform we use to record nature observations in Surrey. It's easy to get started:

  1. Download the free iNaturalist app to your mobile device and set up your profile. 

  1. Search for surrey-bc_biodiversity and follow us. 

  1. Take photos of plants and animals wherever you feel comfortable to observe nature including your backyard, balcony, or a nearby park.

Posting observations  

Learn how to make and add an observation and a whole lot more by checking out the iNaturalist getting started guide

  • Location of the observation is important, so if you have your phone’s location data turned off you will need to add the location manually. 

  • If it’s not wild (e.g. a domestic pet or farm animal) be sure to mark the observation as captive/cultivated. 

  • As you gain experience, feel free to help identify other people's observations.