Digital tools for nature

Share your nature discoveries

We're always finding new species living in Wellington. Use iNaturalist to record your observations of special species you find outdoors. If you’re not sure what something is, other users can help identify it for you.

iNaturalist helps the user to identify plants and animals and record observations. iNaturalist is connecting Wellingtonians to a larger community of scientists and experts from all over the globe. iNaturalist is like the ‘Instagram for nature lovers’ and promotes the crowdsourcing of species identification.

Data from iNaturalist helps Universities and Councils understand where species may occur, and how we can better plan for, and protect Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Download the iNaturalist app for Android

Download the iNaturalist app for Apple

Read the instructions for making an observation using the app and website and watch a video on how to use the app on your phone.

Check out some images from iNaturalist below.

Hoake ki te Taiao

City Nature Challenge

The 2023 City Nature Challenge is complete, and the results are in!

This year Wellington City Council worked with regional partners to grow the City Nature Challenge in our region, expanding the target area to include everywhere within the Greater Wellington Regional Council boundary.

Over 12,000 observations were uploaded on the iNaturalist app in Te Upoko o te Ika, and a total of 2,223 species were recorded by 263 observers. See the full results from the campaign on the iNaturalist website.

Campaign supporters for 2023 included Forest & Bird, KCC, Mountains to Sea, Predator Free Wellington, Wellington Scouts, Wellington Zoo, DOC, Sustainable Coastlines, Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, Enviroschools, Wellington Botanic Society, Nuku Ora, Victoria University and Te Papa. Council partners included Greater Wellington Regional Council, Kāpiti Coast District Council, Porirua City Council, Hutt City Council and Upper Hutt City Council.