Taxonomy Recognition Day 2026: May 23rd #NameItToSaveIt

The EU-funded TETTRIs project has declared 23 May as annual Taxonomy Recognition Day. The date marks the birthday of Carl Linnaeus and calls on researchers, institutions, and the public to celebrate the science of naming, describing and classifying life on Earth. Now in its third year, the initiative invites participation through the #NameItToSaveIt campaign on social media.

To take part:
- Take of a picture of species
- Find it's scientific name. Use a species recognition app such as iNaturalist or ObsIdentify if you need help. 
- Post both on social media with the hashtag #NameItToSaveIt 

Last year the campaign reached over 700,000 people. Now the goal is a million. 

TETTRIs: Transforming European Taxonomy
TETTRIs brings together 17 partner institutions from across Europe, including leading natural history museums, botanical gardens, and research organisations, under a shared mandate to strengthen taxonomic knowledge and infrastructure in support of the EU’s biodiversity governance commitments. The project is funded under the HORIZON programme and runs from December 2022 to May 2026, with a total budget of approximately 6 million euros. The project works across three axes: improving access to taxonomic tools and reference collections, building training and capacity for the next generation of taxonomists and parataxonomists, and fostering collaboration between professional institutions, citizen scientists, and policymakers. Taxonomy Recognition Day sits at the intersection of all three: it is a public-facing initiative designed to make taxonomy visible to audiences beyond the scientific community and to build the social and political will needed to sustain it.

Read more about the initiative at tettris.eu

CONTACT

Michael Magee
Communications Lead, TETTRIs
Email: magee@snm.ku.dk