SCOUTS South Africa has been participating in the City Nature Challenge (CNC) for many years. In 2019 the Western Cape Scout Region started contributing a signifant amount of observations, and in more recent years, Scouts from around the country have joined in the fun within their cities too!

We are inviting all our Meerkats, Cubs, Scouts, Rovers, Scouters and Scouting parents around the country to participate in the City Nature Challenge 2026 and help put Scouting and the biodiversity in our areas on the Map.

All it takes is to download the iNaturalist App, snap photos of plants, animals, insects, fungi, etc. in your garden, local park or nature reserve and upload them on the App between 24 and 27 April 2026. You decide whether to spend 10 minutes or 2 hours exploring and taking photos.

Scouting members who submit 10 or more observations will be able to wear a CNC2026 badge on their uniform! More information about the badges to come soon!

How does it work?

Participating in the City Nature Challenge is as easy as 1 2 3!

1. Find wild life – It can be any WILD plant, animal, insect, or any other evidence of life found in your city.
2. Take a Picture or Record a Sound – Take a picture or record the sound of what you find. Be sure to note the location of the critter or plant.
3. Share – share your observations through the iNaturalist App or your city’s chosen platform. If it’s planted or taken care of by people, it is not WILD. Mark it captive/cultivated! Only WILD observations count for this inter-city global campaign with a competitive edge :-).
4. IMPORTANT! – Make sure on the iNaturalist App to join the Scouts South Africa project .
   Click on the hamburger icon (Android) or More (iPhone), Projects, magnifying glass, search for Scouts South Africa, click on it, and then click on Join. You then need to add the SCOUTS SA project to each observation.

What does a Meerkat, Cub, Scout, Rover or Scouter need to do to participate?

• Have access to a smartphone with a camera and GPS (switched on).
• Have access to a Wi-Fi connection (or data for phone – but this can be expensive).
• Install the iNaturalist App and sign up. Find out how this works HERE.
• Join the “Scouts South Africa” project on the iNaturalist App.

Supervision: 

• Parents are welcome to supervise Meerkats, Cubs and Scouts who do not have their own smartphone. More specifically, the iNaturalist App terms and conditions state: ” “The Platform and Services are available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old, unless parental permission has been obtained.”
• Ideally siblings and parents should all have their own login username. However, less optimally, you may also use one username in the family.

Simple Rules

• No selfies, people, pets, goats, horses, sheep, cattle and pot plants.
• Photos of animals, plants or fungi growing in your garden naturally, parks or nature reserves and even indoors are good subjects. Look inside and underneath pot plants for woodlice, snails, earthworms, etc., and look on the plants for caterpillars, aphids, scale and other creatures that enjoy your plants. Photograph flies and ants in your kitchen or even the fleas and ticks on your pets – the scope is limitless!
• Take several pictures of any animal/plant to show different important features.
• Zoom in for small details – it must fill the screen and not be a dot on the picture.
• Only one species per observation. Start another observation for any other / new species.
• The observations must be taken during the campaign period and uploaded successfully to count.

More info

SCOUTS South Africa National CNC Champion: Nigel Forshaw, [email protected].

• Want to find out more about the City Nature Challenge 2025: https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/
• Want to find out which cities in Africa are participating in the City Nature Challenge 2026: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-africa)
• Once the challenge is on, you can follow SCOUTS South Africa’s City Nature Challenge project HERE.