May 19, 2025

The Results Are In – City Nature Challenge was a Rousing Success!

The number of observations and species throughout Atlanta exceeded our expectations, and Fernbank had some awesome employee observers!

The official results from City Nature Challenge are in! Throughout the entire world, there were 3,310,131 observations, with 102,945 observers in 669 countries. Here in the Atlanta Metro area, where Fernbank is the organizer, we had a goal of 10,000 observations – and we went above and beyond with a total of 14,559 observations! There was also an increase in the number of species observed, with a total of 2,386. See the infographic below for the final numbers.

Fernbank employees had a hand in those impressive numbers, with staff and volunteers across all departments pitching in. The top observer, both for the Atlanta City Nature Challenge and Fernbank Museum, was Dash from the Education Department, with a very impressive 1,101 observations! Congratulations Dash!

The top runners-up from the staff were Amanda from Marketing with 662 observations, Eloise from Institutional Development with 481 observations, and Tracy from Membership with 320 observations. Amelia was our top teen volunteer with 614 observations. From the forest and ranger team, Heather had 543 observations and Vhanessa had 204 observations. Many other employees also contributed.

See some of the favorite photos below, chosen by the employees.

We congratulate and thank all observers and partners in the City Nature Challenge, especially those in the Atlanta area, and look forward to even bigger numbers next year!

Want to brush up on your nature skills? Check out our forest walks, events and exhibits throughout the year.