City Nature Challenge

The City Nature Challenge is an annual event  when Coquitlam competes with communities around the world  promotes to gather observations about nature, find interesting species and engage people using iNaturalist, a project of National Geographic and the California Academy of Sciences.

2025 City Nature Challenge

Coquitlam joined our neighbouring communities and all participating municipalities across Metro Vancouver to combine all our efforts. 

In 2025, Metro Vancouver Regional District had the most observations of unique species in all of Canada. Way to go!

  • Total observations - 36,251
  • Total species - 2,127

Using the iNaturalist App

iNaturalist is an initiative of National Geographic and the California Academy of Sciences, iNaturalist is a network of citizens, naturalists and biologists who map and share observations about biodiversity around the globe. 

The app is free and open to everyone. Members can browse nearby posts, upload their own images and audio recordings, and receive feedback and information from the iNaturalist community. 

To have your observations counted in this year’s City Nature Challenge:

  • Go to iNaturalist or download the free iNaturalist app from the App Store or Google Play and create an account. 
  • Observations may include descriptions, uploaded photos, or photo or audio recordings through the app. Photos should be clear and full-frame.

iNaturalist is a third-party app, and the City of Coquitlam makes no claims about the security or privacy of its use. View the iNaturalist Privacy Policy.