See our city in a completely different way this weekend with the City Nature Challenge. Taking place in more than 75 cities on six different continents, the City Nature Challenge is an international competition to see which city can spot the most species between April 27th and April 30th.

Last year, over 126,000 observations were logged in five days by over 4,000 citizen scientists, representing more than 8,500 species in the United States alone.

So how can you participate?

All you have to do is download the iNaturalist app and take a picture of any plant or animal that find in Austin. Once you post the picture, others in the online community will help you to identify which species it is.

You can participate by exploring the life in your backyard, local park, or along a hiking trail. You can also help with IDs for other people’s observations. The results will be used to contribute to an international database of urban wildlife that will be used by scientists and naturalists all over the world.

In other words, the City Nature Challenge is the perfect time to get your science nerd on! More info>>