First Purchase College BioBlitz
Friday September 22nd and Saturday September 23rd mark what will hopefully be the first of many a BioBlitz on campus. Help the Environmental Studies department and the Office of Sustainability document the biodiversity of the Purchase College campus! Please see the event schedule below.
What is a BioBlitz?
National Geographic defines it as “an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time.”
Why are BioBlitzes important?
Because biodiversity matters.
We are a campus that values diversity in all ways. We are a campus with abundant natural areas and we want to use this BioBlitz as an opportunity to catalog everything that lives on our campus. We need to document what we have so we can protect important areas, track changes over time related to climate change.
We will be using the free smart phone app, iNaturalist to log observations of any and every living thing on campus (plants, fungi, animals, insects, etc). You can work on your own or come to one of the events we have planned. Log iNaturalist observations on campus anytime on Friday or Saturday and you will automatically be included in the BioBlitz.
There will be an iNaturalist information session on Friday. This session is drop-in style and open to everyone to learn more about the project. Need a little help with iNaturalist or have questions about the BioBlitz? Stop by on Friday morning and get your questions answered.
The expert-led expeditions will be conducted in the protected forested area along Blind Brook. Please note that these expeditions require navigating over uneven terrain, through vegetation, and in areas that may be wet. Sturdy closed toed shoes and long pants are required. Total navigation could be around 1 mile (or more) depending on how far you want to explore. Please be aware that navigating through this area means you may come in contact with ticks, poison ivy, and stinging insects. We will make sure to show you places to avoid but please know this is a potential hazard.
We do not think these expeditions are suitable for small children. Individuals requiring accommodations for equal access to this event are encouraged to contact grace.afflerbach@purchase.edu as soon as possible so that a good faith effort can be made by the organizers to meet the identified needs.
Event Schedule:
Friday September 22nd
10:30AM-12PM: BioBlitz Kick Off; Clocktower
Stop by any time to learn how you can help with the BioBlitz. Get help from Conservation Biology students about how to set up and best use iNaturalist. Start your observations right there by exploring the Great Lawn and surrounding areas. RSVP not required. Event information can be found here.
9AM-11AM: Expert Expedition 1 led by Professor Ryan Taylor
Join Professor Taylor to learn about the important tree species we have living on campus. Learn more and RSVP here
3PM-6PM: Expert Expedition 2 led by Professor Allyson Jackson
Join Professor Jackson to learn about the different insect and plant species we have on campus. Learn more and RSVP here