CNC Local Organizer Information

Are you interested in being a local organizer for the 2025 City Nature Challenge (CNC)? Anyone can be a CNC organizer! We’ve had local organizers that are from all walks of life—from high school students and retired people to staff from nature centers, museums, non-profit organizations, and local government officials.

Organizer Responsibilities

Organizers are responsible for: 

  • Attending virtual and asynchronous meetings
  • Working with other organizers in your area (if multiple people express interest and/or your city has returning organizers)
  • Setting up a project in iNaturalist or your city’s preferred platform
  • Promoting the CNC in your community
     

Getting Started As a Local Organizer

Whether you are a NEW or RETURNING Organizer, here are some easy steps to get started:

New Organizers

  1. Subscribe here to share your basic contact information with us. Please note that subscribing to the email list does not commit you to organizing for the CNC, you can unsubscribe at any point. We will share our official Commitment Form to fill out after the informational and kickoff meetings (mandatory for all new organizers).
  2. Attend one virtual October New Organizer Informational Meeting or watch a recording after sessions have concluded. Links to recordings will be sent to those who have subscribed above. Organizer registration will remain open until January 15, 2025.
  3. Attend one virtual November CNC Kickoff Meeting or watch a recording after meetings have concluded. Links to meeting registration or recordings (for past events) will be sent to those who have subscribed above. Organizer registration will remain open until January 15, 2025.
  4. Fill out the Commitment to Organize form by December 13, 2024 (link can be found in November CNC Kickoff Meeting agenda and recording).
  5. Register your city by filling out the City Information form by January 15, 2025 (link can be found in November CNC Kickoff Meeting agenda and recording).
  6. Attend all future meetings (see timeline below). All meetings are mandatory for new organizers. Watching the recording counts as attending a meeting.

Returning Organizers

  1. Attend one virtual November CNC 2025 Kickoff Meeting (mandatory for all returning organizers). Watching the recording counts as attending a meeting. Check your email inbox and spam folders for registration details.
  2. Attend the December and March Asynchronous Meetings and the June Debrief Meeting (mandatory for all returning organizers). The January and April Planning Meetings are optional for returning organizers. 
  3. Fill out the Commitment to Organize form (link to form will be shared during the November Kickoff meeting).
  4. Register your city by filling out the City Information form (link to form will be shared during the November Kickoff meeting).

*Note about virtual (a.k.a Zoom) meetings: We have organizers all over the globe. To accommodate all the different time zones, we hold each meeting at four different times (three in English and one will be in Spanish). Organizers only need to attend one of the three meetings. All meeting times are shown in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), and will be recorded so you can catch up if you miss them.

Ready to take the next step?

Subscribe here to share your basic contact information with us.

Not ready yet? Read on for more information. 

Early Bird registration closes December 13, 2024 and includes perks such as requesting a new CNC logo translation and submitting photos for possible inclusion in the CNC 2025 video. 

Regular registration closes January 15, 2025.
 

City Nature Challenge 2025 Timeline

October 2024

  • New Organizer Informational Meetings (on Zoom in English October 9, 20:00 UTC and 23:00 UTC, October 10, 15:00 UTC / in Spanish October 11, 21:00 UTC. Mandatory attendance to one of four meetings for new organizers.

November 2024

  • CNC 2025 Kickoff Meetings (on Zoom in English November 6, 00:00 UTC, November 7,16:00 UTC and 21:00 UTC / in Spanish November 8, 21:00 UTC ). Mandatory attendance to one of four meetings for new and returning organizers.

December 2024

  • Attend the December All Organizer Asynchronous Planning Meeting (on Google Docs December 2-13). 
  • Attend iNaturalist How-to Training (in English December 10, 16:00 UTC / in Spanish December 13, 21:00 UTC). This training is for those organizers who are unfamiliar with making a City Nature Challenge project on iNaturalist or how to use the platform. 
  • Individual deadline for all organizers: fill out the CNC 2025 Commitment to Organize form by December 13 to remain on our mailing list for 2025.  We’ll share the link to the Commitment to Organize form during the November kickoff meeting, and via an organizer email.
  • Early Bird registration for cities: one person from each city should fill out the City Information form by December 13 to receive perks associated with Early Bird registration. (The regular registration deadline is January 15 for all cities to participate in CNC 2025). We’ll share the link to the City Information form during the November kickoff meeting, and via an organizer email.

January 2025

  • Attend Makeup iNaturalist How-to Training (in English January 16, 16:00 UTC / in Spanish January 17, 21:00 UTC). This training is for those organizers who are unfamiliar with making a City Nature Challenge project on iNaturalist or how to use the platform. Note this is the EXACT SAME training as the one on December 10.
  • Attend the January Organizer Planning Meetings (on Zoom in English January 28, 16:00 UTC, January 29, 21:00 UTC and 00:00 UTC / in Spanish January 31, 21:00 UTC). Mandatory for new organizers. Optional for returning organizers.
  • City deadline: make your city’s project on iNaturalist or your city’s chosen platform by January 31.

February 2025

  • Official CNC 2025 City List posted on CNC website (February 28).

March 2025

  • Attend the March ALL Organizer Asynchronous Planning Meeting (on Google Docs March 3-19).

April 2025

  • Attend the April Organizer Planning Meetings (on Zoom in English April 16, 20:00 UTC and 23:00 UTC, April 17, 15:00 UTC / Spanish meeting date will be announced later). Mandatory for new organizers. Optional for returning organizers.
  • CNC observation period starts (April 25)
  • CNC observation period ends (April 28)
  • CNC identification period (April 29 - May 4)

May 2025

  • Results announced (May 5)
  • Dates for CNC 2026 announced (May 5)
  • Fill out All Organizer Debrief Survey (May 5 - June 6)

June 2025

  • All Organizer Debrief Meeting (on Zoom in English only June 16, 15:00 UTC)

Organizer FAQ

We’re always happy to answer more questions. Contact us here.