The Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge invite you to participate in the City Nature Challenge!
the city nature challenge: BAton Rouge Region
April 26-29, 2024
The City Nature Challenge is a four-day friendly nature competition that goes on across the globe April 26 to April 29, 2024.
We are competing against the Greater New Orleans area, our neighbor cities in Texas, and 400+ other cities all over the world!
The goal is to see which city can show the most wildlife in their area, including wild plants, animals, insects, mushrooms, fish, turtles — everything! Let’s show off Baton Rouge’s amazing wildlife diversity and unique ecosystems.
Taking part is easy!
Find wildlife. It could be a bird, insect, plant or any other sign of life.
Take a picture. Snap a photo of what you find with your smart phone or digital camera.
Share! Upload your observation to iNaturalist.org or with the iNaturalist mobile app and it will be automatically added to the contest project.
Any observations made in these parishes during the official event period will automatically count toward the challenge: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.
2024 Mascots
Our good luck mascots for the 2024 Baton Rouge Region City Nature Challenge feature two creatures with bursts of blue: the Eastern Bluebird and the Scarlet-bodied Wasp Moth.
The greenspace of the year is BREC’s Frenchtown Conservation Area. Go explore this area and observe these beautiful native creatures! This is one of the few sites in the Baton Rouge region that you can find the Marbled Salamander!
Many Thanks to our Partners:
2024 Updates
We are excited to add four new partner organizations, Pelican Park/Recreation District #1, Wild Ones Pontchartrain Basin Chapter, the Louisiana Conservation Corps of AmeriCorps and the USA National Phenology Network. We invite you to contribute to the USA-NPN’s Time to Restore phenology project.
The BREC Conservation BioBlitz is during the City Nature Challenge this year! All observations made during the bioblitz at Bluebonnet Swamp will benefit both BREC and our standings in the City Nature Challenge!
We are hosting “Discover Hilltop’s Wildlife,” a family field day for all ages on March 24, 2024.
The City Nature Challenge has grown so much, it has surpassed the maximum limit of 500 entries in an umbrella project, so the global City Nature Challenge now has two iNaturalist projects!
Download the iNaturalist app here, or, use the iNaturalist.org website which has more features than the app.
*Important note: SEEK app observations will only count toward the City Nature Challenge if you first sign into an iNaturalist account in the SEEK app, or you create a new iNaturalist account from within the SEEK app.
Share the City Nature Challenge Baton Rouge Facebook event with your Facebook friends and groups!
Below is a sampling of wild organisms found in the Baton Rouge region:
Host of Science Friday
Nature and people photos on this website courtesy of Amber M. King (c) 2024.