Takepart innature challenge thisyear
RSPB Scotland is encouraging people to get closer to nature by taking part in this year’s City Nature Challenge.
This takes place from April 29 to May 2.
The international citizen science project aims to highlight nature in cities and surrounding regions and encourage people to get involved in recording wildlife using a free app over a four-day period.
This year Greater Glasgow is included, with boundaries that extend to most of the central belt in Scotland.
As well as the cities themselves, Greater Glasgow also includes Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde.
In 2021, 14 city regions across the UK joined forces to activate a national community of almost 5,000 wildlife recorders during City Nature Challenge.
Recorders contributed an incredible 62,000 wildlife records to local and national databases, where they are used to inform conservation, management and research.
Kate Kirkwood, RSPB Scotland’s Giving Nature a Home project manager says: “This year’s City Nature Challenge is a great way to discover the wildlife and plants that live where you live. Over the past couple of years many people have found solace in nature and reconnected with their own local areas.
“Taking part in this recording project will not only help you learn more about wildlife but also contribute useful data to biological records across the country. It’s lots of fun too!
“We’re encouraging everyone to take part over the four days, it’s a such a good activity to get children involved with and do as a family. You don’t need any previous experience of nature recording – all you need is your phone with the iNaturalist app on it.
“The only criteria for submitting records is that the photo must be of wild species so no pets or garden plants.
“You can record what you see from your windows, spot in your flower boxes, find outside in your gardens or balconies or see in your local park or greenspaces.”
To take part people are asked to visit the City Nature Challenge website and download the free iNaturalist app. Then during the four days take photos of the plants, insects, animals, birds or fungi spotted from windows or outdoors.