Fundraising Manager
On Sunday 31st May, we conducted our first mini bioblitz, on Akeake peninsula on Urupukapuka. Read on to find out what this involved, what we found, and how you can do the same!
A bioblitz is a communal effort to record as many species within a designated location and time period as possible.
The purpose is to engage and enable members of the community, sometimes working alongside experts, to more closely observe and connect with the natural world around them, spark curiosity, and enjoy the great outdoors, while also generating useful data for science and conservation.
Bioblitz participants frequently use iNaturalist to record their observations, leaning on its live ID suggestions backed up by its global network of experts and citizen scientists.
Ahead of the day, we selected and taped out two nearby sections of bush on Akeake peninsula to define the project area.
On the morning of the bioblitz, 16 volunteers and team members braved some hearty rolling swells on our trip out to Urupukapuka, each equipped with access to a mobile phone complete with the iNaturalist app.
After explaining the process for the day, and a short walk up the hill, we spread out and spent around 90 minutes in each of our two marked out areas.
It was a great joy to slow down and closely observe everything around us, from established trees to tiny seedlings, unusual fungi, some inevitable weed species, insects, and a handful of birds. The group was entertained while blitzing our second section by a group of three cheeky tīeke.
Our bioblitz also fortunately coincided with the International Day for Biodiversity project on iNaturalist. This project ran throughout the second half of May, aiming to create a global snapshot of life on Earth, and meant that our observations were added to hundreds of thousands of others globally over this 17 day period.
This was a great opportunity to contribute our data to the global biodiversity record, with more than half a million observations made as part of this project.
We certainly hope to use this first experience to undertake more bioblitzes as part of our educational engagements on the islands, but you don’t need to get out to the islands to take part in a bioblitz.
Bioblitzes were not conceived to be limited to nature reserves or remote bush areas, but designed to be undertaken almost anywhere, to help us all notice the diversity of life in our everyday surroundings – whether that is your local park, reserve, school, golf course, or other urban environment.
Setting up and undertaking a bioblitz is not difficult, and with no real costs involved. Check out the guides below for some more information on how to get started!
