A Cottage Country BioBlitz
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Summer is a very exciting time to be out in the natural world. What better way to learn about what’s out there than participating in a BioBlitz! A BioBlitz is a community event where naturalists from all fields of wildlife expertise come to survey a specific parcel of land. They list all of the plants and animals they can find, and usually take community participants on a short walk to share some of their knowledge. By repeating a BioBlitz every few years, communities can track changes in their local environment and monitor the presence of Species at Risk that may be living in their area. A BioBlitz is also a great way to engage the local community in environmental education while they learn about new things and familiar things that live right in their own back yard.
On August 16th and 17th the Greater Bobs and Crow Lake Association, with the help of Toronto Zoo’s Adopt-A-Pond Programme, held its very first BioBlitz, which hands down was the environmental hit of the summer! What a success! Hundreds of species were tallied, including a number of very rare ones. Some of the exciting finds included two Species at Risk reptiles: juvenile Five-lined Skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus), Ontario’s only lizard, and an Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis spiloides) along with 3 shed skins from other Ratsnakes, one skin was close to 2 meters long!
Holding a BioBlitz is a great way to get the community connected, outdoors and appreciative of nature. If you would like to organize a BioBlitz in your community, contact Adopt-A-Pond for some helpful resources.
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