Join the 2026 City Nature Challenge: Greater Phoenix Area
Calling all Phoenix nature lovers, hikers, desert plantophiles, and wildlife enthusiasts! Help the Maricopa County Master Naturalists document our urban biodiversity this April 24–27.
How to Get Involved: Accessible to Everyone
Anyone can join! You don't need any prior experience, special training, or a scientific background to participate. This event is about curiosity, observation, and contributing to real science.
All the life you see that you didn't plant or buy yourself counts—from the bees and butterflies in your space to the native weeds growing next to the trash can!
No experience needed | All ages welcome | Use your phone to participate
Get Started
2. Join the Project
2. Join the Project
2. Join the Project
Search for and join the “2026 City Nature Challenge: Greater Phoenix Area” project within the app.
3. Snap & Share
2. Join the Project
3. Snap & Share
(April 24-27)
Connect to your place by taking photos of wild plants and animals in your neighborhood, parks, and local ecosystems during the challenge weekend, and upload your observations to iNaturalist.
Why We Are Co-Organizing the Challenge
The Maricopa County Master Naturalists are thrilled to be a co-organizer of the Greater Phoenix Area CNC for its 6th year, alongside incredible partners like EcoExplorers, Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation at ASU, SciStarter, Maricopa County Parks and Recreation, Desert Botanical Garden, Arizona Science Center, Arizona Game and Fish and more!
As a local chapter of the statewide Arizona Master Naturalist Association, our volunteers are dedicated to supporting our local environment. All of our chapter's activities, reporting, and mission-driven work are categorized under three core pillars:
- Stewardship: On-the-ground restoration and conservation efforts, including the Desert Defenders invasive plant pulls, seed harvesting and planting events, and wildfire mitigation.
- Education: Public outreach and interpretive programs, such as hosting workshops and completing docent shifts.
- Community Science: Vital data collection and biological monitoring, frequently contributing to projects via iNaturalist.
We believe that anyone can be a community scientist. By participating in this event, you are taking the first step in helping us protect the beautiful desert we call home.
Do You Love Being a Community Scientist?
The City Nature Challenge is just the beginning!
If you love learning about native plants and animals, we invite you to stay connected.
Subscribe to the Maricopa County Master Naturalists newsletter to learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities, get seasonal articles, and be the first to know when we open applications for our next Master Naturalist training cohort!