NatureMapping Bioblitzes

What's a Bioblitz?

Bioblitzes are 24-hour species inventories conducted by scientists and the local community.

Central Park 2006 Bioblitz, New York City

The NatureMapping Program partnered with the Explorer's Club that hosted the bioblitz in order to expedite data collection and analyses for the Explorer's Club and to test the final changes to the Nature Tracker software.

NatureMapping coordinated the Technology Team of volunteers, trained to use the Program's data collection software, Nature Tracker on handheld devices (PDA's) with attached GPS units. Over 160 people participated in the bioblitz as members of taxa teams, identifying 358 species.

Cape Cod Bioblitz, Brewster, MA

A joint effort between the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Boston Museum of Science and Technology, and the NatureMapping Program resulted in a 3-hour demonstration bioblitz on May 2, 2006 in Brewster, MA. The goal was to demonstrate how a bioblitz is conducted, involve the local community, and prepare volunteers who would be involved in the Central Park Bioblitz the following month.

Lower White River Bioblitz volunteer with snails

Chewelah Peaks Learning Center Bioblitz

Chewelah Peaks Learning Center was the site for NatureMapping's 8th Annual National Meeting in May, 2005. Nature Tracker was used to collect data to assess what possible projects would work and the scope of each project.

Lower White River Bioblitz, Washington

The Lower White River Bioblitz was held on June 2-3, 2006. Over 100 scientists, taxa experts, volunteers,land owners and news media participated in the 24-hour inventory of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and plants.

Using NatureTracker Software for a Bioblitz

NatureTracker has been used to collect data in 5 recent bioblitzes using two laptops to collect, display, and finalize data:

Gig Harbor, 840 acres of private lands, over 50 participants - June, 2005

Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Massachusetts, 80 acres, over 100 participants - May, 2006

Central Park New York, 800 acres, over 160 participants - June, 2006

Lower White River, 1,560 acres in 2006 and in 2007 specific areas in the cities of Pacific and Auburn.