From April 24 to 27, Almaty will become part of the global environmental challenge City Nature Challenge 2026.
City Nature Challenge (CNC) is an annual global bioblitz during which city residents around the world photograph and record wild plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms, helping to document urban biodiversity.
In the official City Nature Challenge rankings in 2026, Almaty (within the boundaries of the Almaty agglomeration) and Karaganda are participating for the third time. Several other cities of Kazakhstan will try their hand in the unofficial competition.
City Nature Challenge 2026 is not just an environmental campaign, but a real scientific marathon in which anyone can take part.
What should you do?
– photograph wild plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms
– upload your observations to the iNaturalist app
– help scientists study urban biodiversity
No special training is required – only curiosity and attention to the nature around you.
Why is it important?
Almaty is located near unique natural areas, and you can help to understand:
– which species live рядом with us
– how urban nature is changing
– which areas need protection
Each of your observations is a contribution to science and biodiversity conservation.
Last year, participants from Almaty made more than 4,000 observations, including 24 species listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. As a result, our city ranked among the top 25% most active cities in the world!
How to participate:
- Install the iNaturalist app or register on the platform iNaturalist
- From April 24 to 27, take photos of wild animals, plants, and fungi
- By May 10, upload your observations to the platform
On May 13, the results of the challenge will be announced.
The results of the 2026 challenge will be displayed in real time on the dedicated project page on the City Nature Challenge 2026 platform: Big Almaty
The CNC 2026: BIG Almaty bioblitz is both engaging and educational – you will begin to notice things around you that you previously overlooked.
Give it a try – and the city will reveal itself to you in a new way!
Contact for more information:
Alexander Dubynin, City Nature Challenge coordinator in Almaty
adubynin@botsad.kz
w/a: +7 960 796 61 50
Additional information
The CNC project originated in 2016 as a competition between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and today it is held as an international initiative led by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
In 2025, the event involved 669 cities from 62 countries, 107,235 participants and 32,386 experts; a total of 3,256,655 observations and 73,652 species were recorded. These figures demonstrate that the City Nature Challenge has become one of the largest international initiatives in the field of citizen science and nature observation.
In 2025, participants from Almaty recorded more than 4,000 observations, including 204 observations of 24 species listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. The bioblitz is gaining popularity: compared to the previous year, the number of observers increased by one third and the number of recorded species by 13%. The most frequently observed species were the mallard and Ostrovsky’s tulip. According to the results of the 2025 challenge, Almaty ranked among the top 25% most active cities in the world!
In Almaty, the initiative is carried out by enthusiasts with the support of the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction and the Institute of Zoology, in partnership with the Open Laboratory of Conservation Biology, the Kazakhstan Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ACBK), Eurasian Wildlife and People, and other interested organizations.
22.04.2026