Get set for a wild weekend - Great Southern Bioblitz 2025 Ignites Southern Africa!

Nature enthusiasts, mark your calendars! From Friday, October 24, to Monday, October 27, 2025, Southern Africa is throwing its doors wide open to the Great Southern Bioblitz (GSB) - a thrilling four-day mission to uncover the wild wonders of our region during the peak of spring, and you’re invited! Grab your phone, step into your backyard, neighbourhood, local estate or any natural area, and join the multitude of conservation NGOs/NPOs, Scouts, academics, government departments, and everyday adventurers in a biodiversity blitz like no other, all powered by the iNaturalist app.

This isn’t just a survey, it’s a full-on celebration of life as flowers explode in bloom, pollinators buzz with energy, reptiles soak up the sun, and migratory birds swoop in. Since 2020, the GSB has skyrocketed from 3,000 observers recording 90,000 observations to a to a Southern Hemisphere sensation. In 2024, 2,110 participants across 45 regions in 16 Southern and Central African countries logged an impressive 111,457 observations of 10,735 species, flagging 654 threatened species and 223 invasive species. This year, 63 places across 14 countries are gearing up, and we’re calling for even more nature lovers to join in.

Suvarna Parbhoo Mohan, SANBI’s Citizen Science Programme Manager, beams, “The GSB is a riot of connection - linking people, communities, and science! Last year’s haul was epic, and with BotSoc, NGOs, Scouts, academics, government, and you, we’re set to smash it in 2025, tackling invasives and boosting conservation.”

Whether you’re in a bustling city, a serene bush, or a coastal reef, there’s a project calling your name. Snap pics of wild plants, critters, or fungi, upload them soon after the bioblitz, as all identification need to be complete by November 10, and watch experts and crowds on iNaturalist - used by over a million global nature buffs - work their magic. SANBI’s offering online training, Scouts are rallying the kids, and government’s weaving this data into action plans.

Ready to be a biodiversity hero? Download iNaturalist, join the GSB project at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2025-southern-africa-umbrella, and dive in from Friday 24 October until Sunday 27 October 2025. Let’s make GSB 2025 Southern Africa’s biggest nature party yet - journalists, this story’s begging for your spotlight!

Then, Observations must be uploaded soon after as all (or as many as possible) identifications need to be completed by 10 November.

Contact: Suvarna Parbhoo Mohan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for supporting images and more information.

Follow: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/iNatureZA), Twitter (@sanbi_za), Instagram (@sanbi_za)  

Media Inquiries: Ednah Sekwakwa, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 078 617 5202 and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 079 056 7551