Resources
These resources can help you to identify WILD organisms you find during the York City Nature Challenge from 24-27 April, 2026. There is an identification phase of the CNC that takes place from 28 April - 10 May, 2026 and these resources are a good place to start. If you know of another good biodiversity identification resource, whether digital or print, please Contact Us and let us know.
Keen to engage people with local wildlife and the many green and blue spaces around York? Share your ideas and join a free interactive workshop about designing immersive and inclusive events related to the York City Nature Challenge from 5-6:30pm on Thursday, 19th March at St. Nicks.
The Field Studies Council, an UK environmental education charity, has many different identification guides (fold-out sheets and books) to meet the needs of beginners and more experienced biodiversity identifiers.
The Friends of Rowntree Park create nature resources for families through Catkin & co to engage families who may know little about tree leaves, wild flowers, bees, butterflies, fungi, pond dipping etc. They use these resources in education sessions at Rowntree Park, so follow this link to take a look!
In order to identify the smaller creatures that you may see, please take a look at these guides to help you with butterflies (and here), bumblebees (and here), hoverflies, and wasps. To see what some of the plants you may find throughout the year, take a look at these guides from Herbology Hunt.
If you like digital identification, there are more citizen science biodiversity apps below!
