2nd Annual BioBlitz Records 347 Species
National Geographic defines a BioBlitz as “an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time.”
On September 6 and 7, campus community members trekked through the forests and fields of our 500-acre campus to see how many species could be documented in 48 hours.
Using the free smartphone app iNaturalist, participants logged observations of as many types of living things as they could find—plants, fungi, animals, insects, etc.
More than 40 participants logged over 1,100 observations and 347 different species in these categories. See the results on iNaturalist.
- 228 plants
- 43 insects
- 39 fungi
- 11 arachnids
- 7 mollusks
- 6 mammals
- 4 amphibians
Events included a Freshwater Expediction led by Assistant Professor of Biology Erika Ebbs; two Forest Expeditions led by Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Allyson Jackson and Dr. Linda Rachele Burke, an environmental scientist and resident of Broadview; and a Nighthawk Watch Expedition and a Birding Expedition, both led by Professor Emeritus of Literature Lee Schlesinger, also a resident of Broadview.
Sustainabillty Coordinator Grace Afflerbach played a key role in organizing the event.