This is our website of the Week. BioBlitz is the dedicated blog of the National BioBlitz Programme.
In case you didn’t know …
A “BioBlitz” is a large scale event that engages large numbers of people with biodiversity, inviting them to get directly involved in surveying and monitoring their local wild green spaces. During a BioBlitz scientists and members of the public work together to survey a natural space, identifying and recording as many species as possible over 24 hours. The majority of events work directly with an environmental records centre or within certain parameters in order to ensure that the data collected will have maximum scientific impact.
National Geographic had this on-line report of one earlier this month:
During two days of exploration and documentation, the National Parks BioBlitz captured a vivid snapshot of the unique plant and animal biodiversity in our national parks. Families, scientists, school groups, and individuals swarmed parks, observing and recording as many plant and animal species as possible. The initial species count was 6,986, with more than 60,000 observations recorded during the two-day event and lead-up events in recent months. Organizers expect this number to increase greatly over the next few months as more BioBlitzes are held, more species are identified, and the final numbers tallied. Y ou can see real-time results here. And if you couldn’t get to a National Parks BioBlitz, you can do your own using our free resources!
Is there one happening near you?