People across Staffordshire are being invited to take part in the world’s largest BioBlitz by photographing wildlife in their local area.
Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is encouraging residents to get involved in the City Nature Challenge, which takes place from Friday 24th to Monday 27th April.
A BioBlitz is a community science event where people work together to identify as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible over a short period of time.
Participants can take photos using their phone through the free iNaturalist app, or upload images taken on a camera via the iNaturalist website. The platform helps identify species, meaning no specialist knowledge is needed to take part.
The event is open to everyone, including families, dog walkers, runners, gardeners and students, with people encouraged to take part wherever they are in the county.
Those who sign up through Staffordshire Wildlife Trust will receive guidance on how to get started, along with free identification sheets, a digital bee poster and suggestions for nature reserves to explore during the challenge.
The event is hosted locally by Staffordshire Ecological Records, which will use the data collected to monitor wildlife across the county.
Ecological Data Officer Fern Brown said the challenge plays an important role in understanding local biodiversity.
By putting on your scientist hat once a year, you can help get a lot of nature information fast, and make a big difference. Last year Staffordshire made more than 12,000 records in four days.
These records help us learn a lot about how wildlife is doing. It lets us track where species are thriving, or where some wildlife may need help. It can give us clues about seasonal weather patterns in relation to plants. And sometimes we even discover rare bugs that we haven’t seen in the county before.
It’s also a lot of fun. You don’t need a lot of time, just a casual photo on your daily dog walk helps a lot. Or, if you’re looking for an excuse to get outside and explore, you can take part each day during the event. There are lots of beautiful places in the county to discover. – Fern Brown, Ecological Data Officer
The challenge is free to take part.
Find out more and sign up here:
https://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/staffordshire-city-nature-challenge-2026
