Stanley Park Bioblitz 2011
byStanley Park will host its first-ever BioBlitz this weekend. According to the organizers at the Stanley Park Ecology Society, a Bioblitz is “an extravaganza of many hands-on exploratory inventories of nature.”
Participants will be in specific groups alongside science experts and given a designated amount of time to identify as many plants, insects, birds, amphibians, fish, and intertidal creatures as they can. They’re calling all “citizen scientists” to help out with this massive undertaking for 24 hours this weekend (12 hours on both Saturday and Sunday).
|
Nature House Display Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm Meet at: Nature House (Lost Lagoon) Beach Seine Hummingbird Trapping |
Wild Edibles and Medicinal Plant Walk Time: 6:00pm to 7:30pm Meet at: Beaver Lake Bat Mist-Netting Owl Survey |
All public events are free. Find Sunday’s schedule online as well.
Patricia Thomson, Executive Director of the Stanley Park Ecology Society, told me by email that it’s great for all ages. “People can join a single event or many to watch hummingbirds being banded, audio-track owls, mist-net bats or beach seine for gunnels.”
Thomson added, “Considering it hosts 7 million visitors each year, Stanley Park still holds many secrets in its wildlife and habitats: in recent years, two species described nowhere else in the world were identified in Stanley Park.”
The Stanley Park Ecology Society, which works closely with the Vancouver Park Board, released a “State of the Park” report last year. They’re hoping that this year’s Bioblitz will be able to enhance and add to the information in that report.
There are organized Bioblitz events across the USA and Canada each year. Whistler recently hosted a Bioblitz earlier this month.
