City Nature Challenge – Calling Organizers to Register Your City

At The Naturalist School (TNS), our mission is to connect people with the phenomenal biodiversity that surrounds them. That’s why we were proud to be one of the pioneers that initially brought the City Nature Challenge (CNC) to India in 2023. Since then, the response from the Indian community has been nothing short of spectacular! From over 20 cities participating in our inaugural year, India has rapidly grown into a powerhouse of citizen science. It now records hundreds of thousands of observations annually from more than 200 cities.

Now, we are reaching out to the next generation of biodiversity heroes across India to lead the charge for CNC 2026!

What is the City Nature Challenge?

The City Nature Challenge is a massive, collaborative global bioblitz. During this event, people worldwide document as much urban wildlife as possible. This includes plants, animals, fungi, and more—over four days. It’s a friendly international competition. The goal is to see which city can record the most observations, find the most species, and engage the most people.

The data you collect in this citizen science challenge is invaluable. It contributes directly to global scientific platforms like iNaturalist. This helps researchers track biodiversity, understand species distributions, and inform local conservation strategies. The success of India in this global event is a testament to our country’s incredible natural heritage. It also shows the dedication of our community.

Register Your City and Become a CNC 2026 Organizer!

To keep India’s momentum going in 2026, we need passionate leaders and organizations in every city to step forward and become an Official City Nature Challenge Organizer. This involves rallying your local community, organizing events, and putting your city on the global map for biodiversity discovery!

Ready to lead a movement in your community? Here are the critical dates and next steps:

Early Bird Registration	December 12, 2025
Regular Registration	January 30, 2026

The four-day Observation Period for the challenge is set for April 24–27, 2026.

To access the official registration forms and review the full Organizer Handbook, please contact CNC India Coordinator Ashwin A at ashwin[at]naturalist[dot]school.

Look Back at India’s Incredible Journey

If you want to see the astounding results, participating cities, and great discoveries that have been made since TNS first helped bring the challenge to India in 2023, be sure to visit the CNC India website:

➡️ Check Past CNC India Results: City Nature Challenge India Site.

Let’s unite our efforts and make CNC 2026 the biggest celebration of Indian biodiversity yet!

Live dashboard tracking cities registered for CNC 2026

You can look at the dashboard given below to see the list of Indian cities registered for CNC 2026 so far. If you are finding any difficulties in accessing the dashboard below, you can visit this dashboard link.