CNC Local Organizer Information

Planning for City Nature Challenge 2027 will begin in September 2026. The following information is provided as an example to prospective new organizers who may be considering joining in 2027.

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 to our email list to be notified about CNC 2027 (planning will begin in Fall 2026). 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 New Organizer Informational Meeting or watch a recording after sessions have concluded. Links to recordings will be sent to those who have subscribed above.
  3. Attend one virtual CNC Kickoff Meeting or watch a recording after meetings have concluded. 
  4. Fill out the Commitment to Organize form (available in our Kickoff Meeting).
  5. Register your city by filling out the City Information form by January 2027.
  6. Attend one virtual Project Management Training or watch a recording after meetings have concluded.
  7. 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 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, March Project Management Training, 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 Fall Kickoff meeting).
  4. Register your city by filling out the City Information form (link to form will be shared during the Fall 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.

City Nature Challenge 2027 Timeline

The following timeline is provided as an example to prospective new organizers who may be considering joining in 2027.

Subscribe to our email list to receive information about upcoming information and planning meetings.  

September 2026

  • CNC 2027 Returning Organizer Kickoff Meetings (on Zoom in English and Spanish). Mandatory attendance to one of four meetings for new and returning organizers.

October 2026

  • New Organizer Informational Meetings (on Zoom in English and Spanish). Mandatory attendance to one of four meetings for new organizers.

November 2026

  • 1 November:  1st Early Bird registered cities posted on the CNC website & umbrella project (iNaturalist only)
  • Attend iNaturalist How-to Training (on Zoom in English and Spanish). This training is for those organizers who are unfamiliar with making a City Nature Challenge project on iNaturalist or how to use the platform. 

December 2026

  • 1 December: 2nd Early Bird Project Registration deadline 
  • Attend the December All Organizer Asynchronous Planning Meeting (on Google Docs). 
  • 11 December: 2nd Early Bird registered cities posted on the CNC website & umbrella project (iNaturalist only)

January 2027

  • Attend Makeup iNaturalist How-to Training (on Zoom in English and Spanish). 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 December training.
  • Attend the January Organizer Planning Meetings (on Zoom in English and Spanish). Mandatory for new organizers. Optional for returning organizers.

February 2027

  • 1 February: Final deadline to submit Project Registration form 
  • 12 February: All registered projects posted on website & umbrella project (iNaturalist only)

March 2027

  • 1 March: All cities must have approved projects (any errors must be fixed by this date), or they will be removed from the CNC. This includes the Individual Commitment and Contact form
  • Attend the March ALL Organizer Asynchronous Planning Meeting (on Google Docs).
  • Attend the March Project Management Training (on Zoom in English and Spanish). Mandatory for all organizers.

April 2027

  • Attend the April Organizer Planning Meetings (on Zoom in English and Spanish). Mandatory for new organizers. Optional for returning organizers.
  • 30 April - 3 May: CNC observation period 
  •  4 - 16 May: CNC uploading & identification period

May 2027

  • 20 May: Results announced 
  • Dates for CNC 2028 announced
  • Fill out All Organizer Debrief Survey

June 2027

  • All Organizer Debrief Meeting (on Zoom in English only).

Organizer FAQ

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