City Nature Challenge 2026 Recap

Release Date: 2026-05-11

By: Joshua Linares 

The City of Long Beach Office of Climate Action & Sustainability held its Fifth Annual City Nature Challenge (CNC) event at Willow Springs Park on Saturday, April 25th, 2026. Created by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Academy of Sciences, the City Nature Challenge has become a global initiative, motivating people around the world to find and document wildlife in their cities as community scientists. The goal of CNC is to encourage community members to explore nature and record observations on iNaturalist. According to the Natural History Museum, this year’s worldwide City Nature Challenge brought the highest number of participants to date, contributing to a total of globally.  

Willow Springs Park is a native habitat restoration site located in Long Beach, California, that is home to a diversity of native species. This year, over 100 community members joined us for City Nature Challenge to explore the park, documenting over 190 observations on iNaturalist. Thanks to the community scientists who have contributed over the years, Willow Springs Park has over 2,000 observations and more than 400 species recorded on iNaturalist. Some of the different species found at the park include Salt Marsh Moth, Sacred Datura, Bush Monkey Flower, Western Fence Lizard, Anna’s Hummingbird, and Desert Cottontail Rabbit.

The Office’s aim for this annual event is to increase curiosity and engagement through nature-based activities. It is an opportunity to educate communities by connecting to the native land and local habitat and engaging in community science. This year, the Office was joined by 10 community partners and organizations who offered the following activities to encourage parkgoers to engage with the environment around them: 

• The Natural History Museum handed out resources on identifying local butterflies and moths and showcased the tools used to log and monitor endangered species like the infamous mountain lion, P-22. 

• Joshua Linares, California Climate Action Corps Fellow, led folks on a guided nature walk where he shared his knowledge about local flora and fauna, Willow Springs history, and helped participants find wild bugs and animals hidden throughout the park.  

• The Long Beach Public Library hosted a bilingual story time and provided free wildlife educational materials. 

• Long Beach Beekeepers brought a beehive display to educate folks on the complex lives of bee colonies.

“I absolutely loved the engaging activities at Longview Point,” Clara Simpson, a new Willow Springs Park visitor, said. “Joshua’s nature walk was so engaging. I loved learning about the different animals that live here, active restoration sites, and park history.”  

This event would not have been successful without all our participants. The Office of Climate Action & Sustainability would like to thank all those who joined us for a day filled with exploration, discovery, and inspiration surrounded by nature at Willow Springs Park. We all play a role as community scientists, and sharing our observations helps promote the conservation of our native habitat, which is essential to the well-being of Long Beach residents. 

Stay tuned for more events in the future by signing up for our newsletter and following us on social media (@lbsustainability on Instagram and Facebook). 

Thank you to our amazing community partners who joined us in making this a fulfilling event:  

• Aquarium of the Pacific  

• Natural History Museum  

• Long Beach Beekeepers
  

• Citizens Climate Lobby 

• California Climate Action Corps 

• Friends of Willow Springs 

• Long Beach Community Compost 

• Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services 

• Long Beach Public Library 

• Long Beach Utilities 

• Puente Latino Association