The City Nature Challenge is a global event that takes place every year at the end of April, it consists of two parts: 

1. Recording – cities partake in a global bioblitz and take photos and recordings of the wild nature (plants and animals) they find during the four-day period  
2. Identifying – cities upload their observations to iNaturalist and add identifications to the recordings 

The North East of England is registered to partake in the 2026 City Nature Challenge, and our project has been set up on iNaturalist.  

Below is an overview of how you can get involved and a guide on how to use iNaturalist to partake in the City Nature Challenge. 

How can I participate? 

Recording: 

1. Download the iNaturalist app
2. Join the City Nature Challenge 2026: North East England Project 
3. Find wildlife anywhere within the North East project boundary and take a photo or make a sound recording of what you find as evidence and note when and where you found it
   • a. Wildlife includes any organism that has not been planted or looked after by humans. Focus on finding bugs, birds and weeds instead of planted flowers and trees or animals that are looked after by humans. 
4. Upload your observations to iNaturalist  

Identifying: 

1. Find the City Nature Challenge 2026: North East England Project on iNaturalist 
2. Go to the Observations tab and click ‘Identify’ 
3. Filter the results by ‘Casual’ and ‘Needs ID’ 
4. Search through the results and find an observation you may be able to add in identification too, click the image and use the ‘Add ID’ button, type in what you think it may be – this can be broad. Save your identification
   • a. Add identifications to the taxonomic level that you are confident of, use the evidence provided in the observation. 
   • b. You can use different sources to help you if you are not sure, such as all the images uploaded in the observation, identification sheets, ID books and apps such as Merlin ID to help 

How to make an observation for the City Nature Challenge 

An observation records an encounter with an organism in a particular time and location. Observations can be uploaded via the mobile app or the webpage.  

Please note: Non-wild observations need to be marked as captive/cultivated on iNaturalist.

Additional guidance 

iNaturalist have shared a slideshow that contains helpful tips about how to make a good observation. The key principles are:  

• Take clear, close-up photos  
• Focus on wild organisms  
• Document the location  
• Add an identification  

Why are observations important?  

iNaturalist is an important tool that helps connect people with the nature around them and build their knowledge of biodiversity. Through iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge, your photos and identifications contribute valuable data that supports research, conservation, and our understanding of local biodiversity. 

At Newcastle University, these records contribute to our Campus Biodiversity Network and help us establish our biodiversity baseline, allowing us to monitor species over time and better understand our campus biodiversity. Whether you’re recording or identifying, every contribution counts, so get involved in this year’s City Nature Challenge! 

If you would like to find out more about other biodiversity initiatives on campus, check out our webpage. For any queries about iNaturalist or sustainability in general, please email us at sustainable-campus@newcasle.ac.uk.   

Thank you for reading! 

Veganuary is a global movement that encourages people to commit to a vegan diet for 31 days in January. Started in 2014 by the UK charity Veganuary, people from over 228 countries have participated in the challenge over the last ten years, and over three-quarters of people in the UK have heard of Veganuary. This blog explores the environmental benefits of a vegan diet and shares some helpful resources, recipes, and our favourite local vegan spots to try!

To celebrate, we hosted a vegan charity bake sale in our office. This year we raised over £100 for the West End Refugee Service, whilst enjoying some delicious vegan bakes.

Environmental Benefits of a Vegan Diet

Cutting down our intake of animal products is crucial for reducing the environmental impact of the agricultural industry (Viroli et al, 2023). Researchers at the University of Oxford found that moving from current diets to a diet that excludes animal products would deliver a 28% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions (Poore and Nemecek, 2018).

“Converting grass into (meat) is like converting coal to energy. It comes with an immense cost in emissions.” –Joseph Poore 

Agriculture uses nearly 40% of land, 70% of freshwater and is responsible for up to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Willett, 2019). Moreover, land conversion for food production is the largest driver of global biodiversity loss (ibid). Dairy and meat products have an especially high environmental impact in comparison to other food groups. This because the process of raising animals is overall much more carbon intensive than harvesting plants. Animal-based food production involves clearing forests for animal pasture, making millions of tons of animal feed and large amounts of waste generated from farm animals. It is therefore important that we re-examine what we eat and move towards an eco-friendlier diet. 

Photo: Tractors at Newcastle University’s Cockle Park Farm by Matt Horne

Top Tips 

1. Enjoy inadvertently plant-based foods 

Some of your favourite foods might be totally vegan, you have just not realised or known it! 

In almost every global cuisine, there are inadvertently vegan dishes which remain at the heart of every meal. From Indian favourites such as dhal or bhajis/pakoras to Arab plates like falafel and hummus, there is ‘vegan’ food everywhere! Tofu is great example of a naturally plant-based signature ingredient. In South-East Asian meals, it has been used for many years to create delicious dishes.

Check out some accidentally vegan food!

2. Reinvent what you know 

A great way to start incorporating more plant-based meals into your diet is to reinvent dishes you know and love. Try swapping some of the meat/dairy ingredients for plant-based alternatives. You might even find you like the vegan alternative better than the original! Check out these recipes for a plant-based chilli, lentil bolognese and macaroni cheese.   

3. Try a non-dairy milk 

Plant-based milks have grown hugely in popularity in recent years due to their environmental credentials. From oat to soya to almond, there is plenty of choice when it comes to milk alternatives! Take your time to try a few different alternatives ‘til you find which one suits you. 

4. Make small switches 

There are plenty of small switches you can make in your kitchen which can help you make a smooth transition to a more plant-based lifestyle. Trying using oil instead of butter when you cook or maple/golden syrup instead of honey. These changes shouldn’t alter the flavour of your dish too much and puts you well on your way to a more sustainable diet. 

Popular Vegan Spots in Newcastle:

• Supernatural Café – the first completely plant-based restaurant in the city
• Sunday – Coffee & Kitchen – a new favourite spot for fun drinks and yummy vegan food!
• Glazed – vegan doughnut shop located in Heaton
• The Ship Inn – a lovely Ouseburn pub with a fully vegan menu
• Veganatomy – vegan Sushi and Banh Mi Bar in Heaton
• Grains and goodness – a vegan bakery at Tynemouth market
• Earthlings – a vegan café
• SnackWallah – vegan Indian street food
• Chicken Shack – menu includes a vegan burger. Located in the Students Union
• The Ship Inn – a pub in Ouseburn with a fully vegan food menu
• A little Piece of Sky – vegetarian “fish” and chip shop takeaway on Friday Evenings, as well as vegan sweet treats and “sausage” rolls. Located in Heaton
• Fat Hippo – vegan menu with vegan burgers. Located in Jesmond and the city centre
• Vegano – vegan burgers, pizzas, pastas, and kebabs. Located in the city centre

Photo: Roast Chicken Seitan at Supernatural Cafe (left) credit: supernaturalnewcastle.com. Food from Veganatomy (right) credit: veganatomy.co.uk. Dabbawal vegan starter (last) (they have a plant based menu!)

Vegan Recipes:

• The Banana Diaries | Easy Vegan Desserts and Baking (& More!)
• The Little Blog of Vegan
• Max La Manna Recipes
• Soph’s Plant Kitchen: Elevate Your Health with Every Bite
• BBC Vegan Recipes
• Love and Lemons Vegan Recipes

References

Nemecek, T., 2018. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), pp.987-992.

Viroli, G., Kalmpourtzidou, A. and Cena, H., 2023. Exploring benefits and barriers of plant-based diets: Health, environmental impact, food accessibility and acceptability. Nutrients, 15(22), p.4723.

Willett, W. et al. (2019) “Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT–lancet commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems,” The Lancet, 393(10170), pp. 447–492. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(18)31788-4. 

What is the Winter Break Switch Off?

The Winter Break Switch Off is a university-wide campaign where we encourage staff and students to turn off any electrical items that can be switched off instead of leaving them on standby over the Winter break.

Why is the Winter Break Switch Off important?  

By turning off everything that can be turned off, we will reduce our energy consumption across the campus. The Winter Break Switch Off campaign has been run for a number of years to minimise energy wastage and contribute to our carbon reduction targets.

We also hope that the Winter Break Switch Off will encourage positive behaviour change more widely and remind colleagues and students to minimise their energy wastage by remembering to switch off what they can every day.

Who participates in the Switch Off?

We would like everyone at the university to participate if they are able to, that includes staff and students across labs, offices, and accommodation. The advice on what to turn off will vary for each location – guidance on what should be switched off is in this blog post. 

When switching off your work area, it can be helpful to organise a switch off team that can check each area after most people have left for the term to ensure everything that can be switched off, has been.

Here are some examples of items that could be switched in various area across campus:

• Staff working in offices: Lighting, computers, monitors, printers and photocopiers, kettles and fridges (after they have been emptied and cleaned). Also, it is important to make sure that all windows have been properly closed. 
• Labs and medical buildings: All the above can be applied in addition to drying cupboards, fume cupboards and fridges/freezers that will not be in use over the break (please do not turn off equipment that is in use).

Many students leave their accommodation over the Winter break, meaning their accommodation will be empty over the holidays. If you are going away over the winter break, there are a few things that you could do before you leave:

• Clean out and defrost your fridges and freezers the day before you leave by turning them off at the wall and popping a towel underneath to soak up the melted ice.
• Turn off your kettles and toasters at the wall.
• If there is a wall switch for your oven this is also a good thing to turn off easily, as well as lights and plug sockets.

For more switch off information, visit the Winter Switch Off events listing.

If you have any questions or ideas about the Winter Break Switch Off, please email the Sustainability Team at sustainable-campus@ncl.ac.uk

Thank you for reading!