From May 19 to June 8, 2025, Ukraine successfully held its first nationwide Bioblitz—a competition for finding and documenting species in nature using the iNaturalist application.
Today, we are publishing the first set of results, beginning with impressive statistics that underscore the passion for citizen science and conservation in Ukraine:
- 731 active observers (users who uploaded their own observations to iNaturalist) and 1,595 identifiers who assisted with species determination participated in the Bioblitz.
- Together, they uploaded 105,000 observations to iNaturalist, with 52,500 (nearly half!) of these already reaching research grade (a level of quality assurance). For comparison, this single event accounted for approximately 6% of all observations ever uploaded to iNaturalist from the territory of Ukraine since 2016.
- A total of 5,279 species were documented, with 36% being plants and 41% insects. This represents 28.4% of all living organism species ever recorded in Ukraine using the iNaturalist platform.
- On average, the community’s activity during these three weeks was 11 times higher than during the entire preceding period of platform use, or 5.7 times higher than the average activity throughout 2024.
- Over 5,000 expert-confirmed findings concern 155 non-native (alien) species recorded in the wild in Ukraine.
- More than 500 expert-confirmed observations relate to 36 species listed in national or international conservation lists (e.g., Red Lists).
- Separately, 7,679 observations of cultivated plants and domestic animals (1,284 species) were uploaded. Although these are not counted in the Bioblitz statistics, they also hold scientific value.
Logic for Determining Winners
The organizers compiled two main lists: the top 10 participants by the number of observations and the top 10 by the number of unique species. All users listed in these two groups are recognized as national winners for Ukraine.
Combined List of Winners in the All-Ukrainian Ranking:
Top 10 by Number of Observations (nicknames listed alphabetically): dekate, geo_vit, ivanmoysiyenko, koljorova, serhii_koniakin, stasixx22, supiilake, valia_yafka, viktoriasergiichuk, ynna2
Top 10 by Number of Species (nicknames listed alphabetically): dekate, geo_vit, ivanmoysiyenko, koljorova, liubov_ilminska, serhii_koniakin, stasixx22, supiilake, tymofiikoshchei, yuri_bengus
Regional Winners
Regarding the regional assessment, not only quantitative indicators but also the representation of the region in the Bioblitz were important. Due to objective reasons (such as security restrictions), the number of uploaded observations is extremely uneven across different administrative units (regions/oblasts). Therefore, winners for each region were chosen autonomously, without comparison to other regions. It is also important to note that participants who were included in the all-Ukrainian winner list were not evaluated in the regional nomination – they are already recognized as overall winners.
The winners in the regional nomination are: alla27618 (Zakarpattia Oblast); anatoliy_s (Sumy Oblast); andre_space (Mykolaiv Oblast); andrey_novgorodsky (Kharkiv Oblast); beren_ua (Chernihiv Oblast); dmytro_svyrydiuk (Khmelnytskyi Oblast); drabinanata (Kirovohrad Oblast); iryna34281 (Lviv Oblast); ivan_zubkovych_11 (Rivne Oblast); juliya_kurylo (Volyn Oblast); khortytsianpd (Zaporizhzhia Oblast); lavrinenkokaterina (Cherkasy Oblast); maryna_zakharova (Ternopil Oblast); nataliia_bohdan (Donetsk Oblast); nataliya88717 (Odesa Oblast); naturalist60433 (Chernivtsi Oblast); nerruslan (Kyiv Oblast and Kyiv City); oksankavasylivna2025 (Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast); olexander_diadyk (Zakarpattia Oblast); ovsiienkoyv (Mykolaiv Oblast); ruslan_pliushch (Lviv Oblast); spriahailo (Cherkasy Oblast); tanya_mukutyk83 (Ternopil Oblast); tetyanatr1120 (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast); the_rock_of_practical_botany (Sumy Oblast); vitaliytovstiy (Zhytomyr Oblast); yard_ua (Zhytomyr Oblast); yatsana (Vinnytsia Oblast); yelyzaveta_maliuk (Poltava Oblast); and zinaida_kotsur (Kherson Oblast).
In subsequent posts, we will highlight specific remarkable observations that deserve special mention. All winners will receive commemorative prizes and participant certificates.
Certificates and Next Steps
Participants have the opportunity to receive one of three types of certificates:
- WINNER CERTIFICATE – for the officially listed winners (in addition to prizes).
- PARTICIPANT CERTIFICATE – for users who did not win but require confirmation of their participation (or simply for a souvenir).
- INSTITUTION CERTIFICATE – if your institution was represented in the Bioblitz by more than one user.
To receive a certificate:
- Complete the Bioblitz and iNaturalist survey (this takes up to 5 minutes).
- ATTENTION! After completing the survey, you will see a link to a Google Form where you must enter the data required for the certificate. If you DO NOT need a certificate, simply close the window. If you do, copy and save this link somewhere.
Please note that for issuing certificates, we will require your personal data (name, surname, iNat nickname, and email address – to send you the certificate, and for winners, their prizes). For an institution certificate, we require the names, surnames, and iNat nicknames of all institutional representatives who participated in the Bioblitz. (For educators, we immediately note that the Bioblitz is not a certified professional development program. Our certificate can only confirm your participation in the competition).
In the meantime, we urge everyone not to stop making nature observations. Biodiversity is not limited by the framework of a competition. Every photo, every accurate identification is another step toward better knowledge and better protection of the living world around us.
The event was conducted as part of the project “Saving Natural Heritage for LIFE in Ukraine” (LIFE23-PRE-CZ-ConNaturLIFE Ukraine), which is co-financed by the European Union and the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic.
