Results of the City Nature Challenge 2024 confirm the great interest and engagement for urban biodiversity with Berlin ranked first in Germany! In Berlin, 355 observers, including both academic scientists and nature-loving amateurs, uploaded a total of 17,944 observations of wild animals, plants and fungi to the platform iNaturalist during the City Nature Challenge 2024 (CNC) this year.
With the help of several hundred specialists, 2,304 species were identified. The excursion programme was initiated by the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and implemented in cooperation with a large number of Berlin research institutions, nature conservation associations and environmental education stakeholders. Around 700 cities worldwide took part with a total of 83,000 observers and recorded over 2.4 million observations. With this high level of engagement, the CNCs are making a valuable contribution to biodiversity research and the global understanding of biological diversity.
The City Nature Challenge (CNC) has been taking place worldwide since 2016. In this friendly competition, cities compete against each other to digitally record as many animal, plant and fungal species as possible in urban areas on species reporting platforms such as iNaturalist in the spirit of citizen science. In the course of the City Nature Challenge, citizen science refers to the participation of interested laypeople together with academically affiliated scientists.
Notable observations and findings during the challenge included the common spadefoot toad (Pelobates fuscus), the wryneck (Jynx torquilla), the woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), the fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) and various orchid species (Orchidaceae). The first report of the fur bee (Anthophora retusa) on iNaturalist in Berlin was also special. In addition, the invasive red-spotted shrimp (Hemimysis anomala) was recorded for the first time in a nature reserve in Spandau, which represents a first record for Berlin on the iNaturalist species reporting platform.
The rediscovery of the weevil species Bradybatus creutzerii, which was previously detected for the first time on the reporting platform during the City Nature Challenge in Berlin 2023, was also one of the outstanding finds. These examples show the great potential of citizen science events to make a valuable and significant contribution to biodiversity research, especially in urban and densely populated areas.
"The diversity of species discovered during the City Nature Challenge 2024 in Berlin impressively illustrates how rich in species our city is." – team of the City Nature Challenge Berlin at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
In Germany, Berlin once again successfully took first place with 17,944 observations, 355 participants and 2,304 species. It was followed by Kiel (6,907 observations) and Frankfurt am Main (2,187 observations). Globally, La Paz wins the City Nature Challenge 2024 with an impressive 165,839 observations, 5,352 species and 3,593 participants. Nuevo Leon in Mexico (81,727 observations) and Texas in the USA (64,728) followed in second place. Berlin came 32nd in the TOP 50 of 700 cities worldwide.
Next year, the network of Berlin institutions would like to invite people to take part in CNC 2025 again. This is possible either during one of the guided nature excursions or other activities or simply privately. In the long term, the ambitious goal is to become one of the top ten cities in the world.
The excursion programme for this year's CNC was initiated by the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and implemented in cooperation with a large number of Berlin research institutions, nature conservation associations and environmental education stakeholders. Let's discover, explore and protect Berlin's nature together!