City Nature Challenge 2021: be part of a global effort to help document native plants and wildlife

Help shine a spotlight on eastern Melbourne’s remarkable urban biodiversity by joining us in the 2021 City Nature Challenge, from Friday 30 April to Monday 3 May.

Maroondah has joined forces with seven other Eastern region councils (Booroondara, Greater Dandenong, Knox, Manningham, Monash, Stonnington and Whitehorse), along with the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria and the Entomological Society of Victoria, who together will compete against 350-plus participating cities from around the world in the annual City Nature Challenge.

During the four-day challenge period, from 30 April to 3 May, the Maroondah community is encouraged to get outside and document their observations (photos or sound recordings) of the native flora and fauna that lives and grows in their neighbourhood using the free mobile app, iNaturalist.

Following the four-day challenge period, experts from around the globe will assist in identifying the species found. Final results of the competition will be announced on Monday 10 May 2021.

Deputy Mayor of Maroondah, Councillor Nora Lamont said the challenge offered an opportunity for people to connect with nature and participate in a collective scientific effort.

“Working together to find and document nature in our area helps scientists and land managers to study and protect these species,” Cr Lamont said.

“Participants can upload their observations to the iNaturalist app, which helps you identify the plants and animals around you. What’s more, by recording and sharing your observations you’ll create research quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature,” she said.

Any observations you log within the eight council areas during the four days of the challenge will be a contribution to the Melbourne - Eastern Metropolitan Area project on a global scale, and within Maroondah project at a local scale.

To help people discover nature near them and capture more information over the challenge period, Council is hosting a series of walks in local parks and reserves.

“Expert tour guides will walk you through the parks and reserves and help you to discover our flora and fauna, and to log your observations into the iNaturalist app,” Cr Lamont said.

“By participating in the City Nature Challenge not only do you learn more about local nature, but you can also make Maroondah a better place to live - for you and other species.

“You may be surprised by the variety of native flora that can be found in Maroondah, including the Powerful Owl, which is Australia’s largest owl that may be seen during the day perched in the dense shade of a large tree. Or you might come across the Golden Whistler, whose presence is often heralded by their beautiful whistling call.

“There are approximately 488 indigenous flora species and 171 indigenous bird vertebrate species, and untold different invertebrate species in our municipality. It will be fascinating to see how many different species are observed during the challenge,” Cr Lamont said.

The City Nature Challenge is a global event organised by the California Academy of Sciences and the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.

To take part in the challenge, download the iNaturalist app or visit the iNaturalist website to create an account and start logging what you see in your neighbourhood!

To learn more about how to use the app, a free online session will be available to participants on Tuesday 20 April featuring Dr Luis Mata. The free session will provide participants with an introduction to the platform and to answer your questions.

A recording of an earlier session will also be made available online. There are also several online tutorials available on the iNaturalist website.

Details and registration links of guided walks will be posted on the Maroondah website as they are finalised. Registrations are essential and tours will be capped at 20 people.

To learn more visit the