Thanks to the contributions and observations of local community scientists, City Nature Challenge 2025 was one of Baltimore's best! Collectively, 838 participants made 12,423 observations and identified 1,815 different species living in and around Baltimore, including over 800 species of plants, more than 490 species of insects and arachnids, and over 120 species of birds.
City Nature Challenge will return spring 2026—sign up for Conservation News to receive reminders as the date approaches!
Get Nerdy With Nature
City Nature Challenge is an annual community science competition for cities across the globe to find and document the plants and wildlife found in urban areas. As regional coordinator, the National Aquarium is calling on community scientists to explore, identify and document urban wildlife in the Baltimore metropolitan area.
Participants will use the free iNaturalist app to record the species they find during the challenge. All observations made in the following counties and uploaded to iNaturalist during the challenge will automatically be counted toward Baltimore's City Nature Challenge totals: Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne's counties.
The National Aquarium is committed to protecting, enhancing and restoring natural resources for the benefit of all people and wildlife throughout the Baltimore region. Part of that commitment includes knowing which species of wildlife live nearby and the types of habitats they need to thrive.
Ready, Set, Upload
Step 1: Download the iNaturalist app.
Step 2: Find wildlife and photograph what you find.
Step 3: Share your observations by uploading your pictures to iNaturalist.
New to iNaturalist? Check out the iNaturalist how-to guide or watch an instructional video on making your first observation upload to learn how to use the app.
City Nature Challenge 101
Join us as we review everything you need to know about City Nature Challenge, including a demonstration of how to make an observation in iNaturalist.
Exploring Baltimore's Biodiversity
Check out the wildlife people are seeing in and around Baltimore today!
City Nature Challenge is organized by:
If you have questions or your organization is interested in partnering with us, please email conserve@aqua.org.
Get Involved Volunteer With Our Conservation Team!
Let's take this outside. Join the National Aquarium as we remove plastic pollution from habitats, plant wetland grasses and native gardens, document local wildlife and more.