The Silver City Watershed Keepers invites you to join City Nature Challenge 2025 - Silver City.
This four-day event is part of an international community science project, aimed at
documenting the biodiversity in urban areas. From April 25-28, participants will document as
many species as possible in Silver City and the surrounding Grant County area. Participants can
find, photograph, and identify species while exploring their neighborhoods and natural areas on
their own or join daily guided hikes and tours led by local naturalists.

See flyer at end of article

City Nature Challenge began as a friendly competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco
in 2016. The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and the Natural History Museums
of Los Angeles County have continued to organize the event ever since. Over the past 10 years,
the Challenge has grown from just 1,000 observers in L.A. and San Francisco to a global
community of naturalists. Over 83,500 people from 690 cities in 51 countries amassed over 2.4
million observations in 2024! Since its inception, City Nature Challenge has collected over a total
of 7.13 million urban biodiversity observations of 94,000+ species, and engaged over 364,000
people.

This is Silver City's first year participating in the City Nature Challenge. We will be joining over
700 participating cities worldwide and we are excited to highlight the rich biodiversity of our
region.

The City Nature Challenge is open to everyone, from expert naturalists to budding outdoor
enthusiasts. Every observation helps build a biodiversity database that aids understanding and
protection of local species. Cities, full of gardens, golf courses, fruit trees, and high rises, can
host a brilliant array of species. Biodiversity data can help scientists track changes in species'
ranges over time and help policymakers make informed conservation decisions. From a study on
bees in urban environments to a revision of the global biogeography of plants, 890 studies were
published using iNaturalist data in 2023. City Nature Challenge emphasizes that humans coexist
with the wild world around them and encourages participants to view themselves as a part of,
not apart from, nature.

Taking part in City Nature Challenge is easy. The iNaturalist app is free and easy to download to
any smart device. Participants simply find a wild organism, take a photo or sound recording, and
upload. All iNaturalist observations made in Grant County from April 25-28 will count toward
our project goals. Wildlife can be found inside the participants' homes, around their
neighborhoods, in backyards, or anywhere. Any wild plant, animal, fungi, slime mold or other
evidence of life (scat, fur, tracks, shells, etc.) can count. Whether participating in an organized
habitat survey or exploring nature on their own, participants can identify species, compare their
observations to a global database of photos, and learn more about their species within the
iNaturalist app. Once posted, an online community of naturalists will work to confirm species
identifications. Those not able to make observations themselves can still participate by helping
to identify species documented in their area during and after the Challenge.

Thank you to the organizations and member-representatives who have partnered to host events and participate in the bioblitz: Amphibians and Reptile Conservancy, Bird Alliance of Southwest New Mexico, Trout Unlimited, Gila Native Plant Society, Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, and Western New Mexico University.

To learn more about City Nature Challenge - Silver City and RSVP for a guided event, head to www.silvercitywatershedkeepers.org. You can also join the "City Nature Challenge 2025: Silver City area" project on iNaturalist, where you will be able to track the City's total participant and species tallies live during the event. Follow the Silver City Watershed Keepers on Facebook and Instagram for updates and photos of wildlife.

The Silver City Watershed Keepers is a watershed stewardship and education program coordinated by the Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP). Volunteers generously donate their time, talents and experience to protect our local Silver City watershed through environmental quality monitoring, restoration, outreach, and education. Our efforts engage volunteers in data collection, litter cleanups, and restoration projects that build community stewardship of our watershed.

Earth Day is an annual celebration of our planet. This global event aims to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourages global citizens to take action to protect our planet. This year, the Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP) is celebrating Gila Earth Day by focusing on deeper impacts and collective action. We are joining our parent organization in this effort by organizing a community cleanup focused on stewarding the lands and waters of Silver City. Visit gilaresources.info or watch Facebook@GilaEarthDay for more Earth Day events and activities.