Your chance to be a ‘citizen scientist’ and help restore nature

Brighton & Hove residents are invited to get involved in the City Nature Challenge for Brighton & Eastern Downs from 24 to 27 April.

Residents taking part will collect information in urban and surrounding areas of The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere to find out what plants and wildlife inhabit our environment, cataloguing them via an app to help conservation efforts in the region.

The Living Coast stretches from Worthing in the West, to Seaford in the East and North over the South Downs National Park to Wivelsfield and Newick in the Low Weald.  Brighton & Hove is at the heart of the Biosphere.

Last year, our area recorded nearly 3,000 nature sightings across the weekend.

Councillor Tim Rowkins, Cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said: “Discovering, observing and recording nature over this weekend will provide an invaluable snapshot of what species are thriving and which are not doing so well. This helps us target nature recovery where it’s most needed.

“It’s a great way to get closer to nature, learn about what’s happening in your area and contribute to a global collective database on biodiversity.

“It’s easy to get involved – you can go out onto the Downs or on the beach, in your garden, local park or green space in your street – every observation, no matter how small, will feed into valuable research to address wildlife and habitat decline.”

How to take part

Throughout the weekend everyone taking part will be able to view their contributions and see how our region compares with the other national and international participants on the City Nature Challenge 2026: Brighton & Eastern Downs web page.

To get involved, all you need to do is download the iNaturalist app to your smartphone and use it to record wildlife.

Events

On Friday, 24 April, students from the University of Sussex will be recording nature at Falmer Pond, part of the National Lottery Funded Downs to the Sea project.

Visit the Brighton & Hove Green Spaces Forum to find details of local groups near to you.

More information

City Nature Challenge is an international event encouraging people around the world to go out and about and become citizen scientists for a few hours (or more…!). It is hosted locally by The Living Coast UNESCO Biosphere, together with the University of Brighton, the University of Sussex and the South Downs National Park Authority.

The Living Coast has provided a step-by-step guide, useful tips on taking photos with a smartphone and an education toolkit on its website.

Protecting and enhancing the city’s natural environment is a key priority in our Council Plan. Part of this commitment is introducing more ways to involve members of the public and organisations in programmes to protect and improve our green and open spaces.