We want your turtle photos…

Join us from April 24 to 27 for this year’s City Nature Challenge.!

That’s right, we want your turtle photos – and any photos of other wild animals and flora too! Ottawa is known for its gorgeous greenspaces, so it’s no surprise that we also have plenty of awesome wildlife photographers. Did you know that your photos can help benefit researchers as well?

Join us from April 24 to 27 for this year’s City Nature Challenge. The challenge is an international event and is led in Canada by the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Its aim is to record wildlife sightings over the four days in the iNaturalist app, and see how many new observations each city can log. 

These photos help contribute data on flora and fauna in our communities, including rare or invasive species, and can help you learn more about what’s living within your community. They also help researchers, and even the City, understand what kinds of wildlife can be found in certain areas or track the spread of invasive species. 

How to participate

It’s easy and free to participate! All you need to do is download the free iNaturalist app and head outside. Take photos of any natural element that is not your pet or a cultivated plant and upload them to the app. Anything counts - from wild plants, fungi and animals to even just records of them being around like eggshells or animal tracks. Try to get good, clear photos if you can, but even blurry photos can still count, as long as the subject is identifiable! Remember to always stay a respectful distance from wild animals while photographing them.

If you’re submitting observations from home, you can hide your precise location while still registering the city you are in, using the app’s “obscure” geolocation setting. 

After the four-day observation period, the challenge continues online as people try to verify each other's sightings! Species need to be identified by Sunday, May 10 to count towards the final City Nature Challenge results. Even if you’re not an expert, you can help identify the more common species that you recognize. It’s also a great opportunity to check out the cool things that were seen in Ottawa and across the country – or around the world!

Come learn about biodiversity with the City

City staff will be present at two locations on Sunday, April 26 from 10 am to 2 pm:

• Cardinal Creek Community Park, 1825 Trim Road
• South March Highlands, at the Klondike trailhead off Old Second Line Road

They will be able to help you with your observations and any questions you might have on getting started with the app. 

You can also upload your photos to Instagram using the hashtags #CityNatureCanada and #OttCity, and tag us (@cityofottawa) for a chance for your photo to be featured on our Instagram stories!

So, dress cozy, watch out for ticks and have some fun exploring. Even if you don’t spot any cool turtles, just remember you’re still soaking up all the benefits just from being outdoors.