Terrestrial Conservation

City Nature Challenge Milazzo

Project duration: January 2024 – September 2024

The City Nature Challenge is an international Citizen Science event whereby cities around the world encourage participants to share observations of nature via a mobile app. Started and coordinated by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and the California Academy of Sciences, in 2023 the competition involved 482 cities and 66,394 participants. MuMa, Museum of the Sea of Milazzo, has been participating since 2021, scoring Milazzo at the first place in Italy in consecutive years. The project will raise awareness on biodiversity and promote environmental education, creating a stronger connection between the local community and marine and terrestrial biodiversity.
The project is funded with our new partner Esplora Travel, a travel company specialising in escorted journeys in Sicily, Southern Italy and the Mediterranean, who has donated a percentage of their revenues to support this initiative.

*JUNE 2024 UPDATE*

We met with our partner MuMa Museo del Mare Milazzo, the Marine Protected Area of Capo Milazzo, and the management bodies of the network of protected areas in Sicily at the Environment Department of the Sicily Region!

During the meeting, we shared the experience of the City Nature Challenge and the opportunities of Citizen Science (Citizen Science Italia) to gather data on biodiversity in protected areas by actively involving citizens.

**AUGUST 2024 UPDATE**

Milazzo is Italy’s biodiversity capital with the City Nature Challenge! This international citizen science initiative engages local communities in gathering nature observations worldwide.

Milazzo ranked 1st in Italy for the number of species and observations, 3rd in Europe, and 25th globally, out of 690 participating cities from 51 countries! These achievements are a symbol of the strong collaboration and active participation of the people of Milazzo.

Promoting such initiatives is crucial to amplifying the potential of citizen science in gathering updated data on protected areas’ biodiversity.

Check the report

***SEPTEMBER 2024 UPDATE***

This year, Milazzo achieved an extraordinary result in the City Nature Challenge, ranking FIRST in Italy, with over 20,000 observations and 2,616 different species recorded.

Thanks to the iNaturalist App, participants documented wild plants and animals, providing valuable information for the protection of biodiversity.

Noteworthy observations:

The rare Sicilian endemic ladybug Tytthaspis phalerata

The Vesparia orchid Ophrys apifera, a threatened species listed in the Italian Red List of Plants

The Viscous Globe-thistle Echinops spinosissimus, a plant at risk of extinction also listed in the Red List

The Redshank Tringa totanus, a migratory bird never before observed in Milazzo

The Violet Pomfret Schedophilus ovalis, whose sightings are rare, especially in juvenile stages