BioBlitz
Collaborate on a nature-based scavenger hunt to discover and catalogue as many species of flora, fauna and fungi as you can for biodiversity research!
BioBlitz 2024 will take place on Wednesday, May 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To get started on this free event, TRU community members and anyone from the broader community are encouraged to drop by the BioBlitz Basecamp on the Campus Commons (look for the blue tent).
What is BioBlitz?
The TRU BioBlitz is a collaborative citizen-science scavenger hunt to discover and catalogue as many species of plants, animals, insects and fungi as possible within six hours across the TRU Campus. This event creates a snapshot of some of the local biodiversity, providing an opportunity to engage with science while spending quality time in nature. In addition, the evaluated and confirmed observations generated by this event will populate a biodiversity audit for the campus and be entered in a research database for biologists.
How to participate?
All members of the TRU and Kamloops community are invited to participate, and no registration is required. Attendees are advised to be aware of the weather during this outdoor event and dress appropriately with comfortable footwear, hats and sunscreen. We also encourage participants to bring reusable water bottles and stay hydrated as they move around the campus.
At the BioBlitz Basecamp event organizers will guide you through downloading the iNaturalist app, setting up an account, and joining the Thompson Rivers University Campus Biodiversity Network project. This app is how you will record the plants, animals, insects and fungi that you discover in your travels across campus. After you’ve learned how to use iNaturalist, grab a BioBlitz bingo card and taxonomy guide and walk around campus recording your observations in the app. Once you’ve achieved a bingo on your card, go back to the basecamp for a sustainability-related prize! Additionally, all bingo cards collected at the end of this event will be entered in a draw for a grand prize.
How to set up and use iNaturalist?
- Download the iNaturalist app for Apple or Android
- Create an account with your email and a password
- Make observations through the app
Resources
"How to Use iNaturalist" by City of Georgetown
"How to Make an Observation on iNaturalist using our Mobile App" from iNaturalist
About iNaturalist and the Campus Biodiversity Network
This event uses the iNaturalist app. iNaturalist is an independent non-profit organization that hosts an online social network of people sharing biodiversity information to help each other learn about nature. It's also a crowdsourced species identification system and an organism occurrence recording tool that biologists can use for research.
The Campus Biodiversity Network is a Canadian organization founded in Montreal, Quebec and aims to promote campus greenspace observation and protection. They encourage students, staff and faculty at educational institutions to champion their universities’ greenspaces and connect with others through citizen-science observation.
