City Nature Challenge 2025 - from York to Kano
Kano State, Nigeria joined the global City Nature Challenge for the first time in 2025! This incredible milestone was made possible through the YESI International Fellows Scheme and Dr Ummi Khalthum Mohammed’s visit to the University of York in 2024.
Kano State proudly took part in the City Nature Challenge 2025 (CNC) for the first time this April, joining over 650 cities worldwide in a four-day global effort to document urban biodiversity. The CNC is a citizen science initiative that encourages people to observe and record local wildlife using the iNaturalist platform, helping to build a better understanding of nature in cities across the globe.
Kano’s participation in this global initiative was made possible thanks to the University of York’s YESI International Fellows Scheme. Dr Ummi Khalthum Mohammed of Bayero University Kano’s (BUK) Department of Environmental Management was inspired to bring the CNC to her home city after visiting York as a YESI International Fellow in 2024.
Dr Mohammed said:
“During my time in York, I was fortunate to attend the City Nature Challenge 2024: York, I was instantly hooked—it was such a fun, interactive way to learn about biodiversity. I knew I had to bring this experience back home to Kano.”
Motivated by this experience, Dr Mohammed led the first-ever CNC campaign in Kano, mobilising a team of local volunteers, students, and researchers who together made hundreds of observations of plant, animal, and insect species across the state. The event not only contributed valuable biodiversity data but also fostered greater public awareness and community engagement around nature and conservation.
Photo credit: Shittu Bature Muhammad
YESI Director Professor Lindsay Stringer said:
“It's great to see the Memorandum of Understanding between the University of York and BUK being operationalised in this way, extending our collaborative work further to understand the value of nature in our cities”
The CNC, originally launched as a friendly contest between Los Angeles and San Francisco, is now an international collaboration organized by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Academy of Sciences.
Kano’s successful debut highlights the wider impact of the YESI International Fellows Scheme, which provides researchers from around the world with the opportunity to build global networks, share knowledge, and spark lasting change in their home regions. Without Dr Mohammed’s fellowship experience in York, this initiative in Kano would not have happened.
Explore the project page and Kano’s species findings at: City Nature Challenge 2025: Kano state
Learn more about the YESI International Fellows project ‘Diversifying Livelihoods for Flood-Resilient Communities
Read the latest project paper: Livelihood diversification among women farmers in Nigeria’s flood-resilient drylands. Climate Risk Management, 48, 100708. Mohammed UK and Favretto N. (2025)’