Community BioBlitz at Sowena | Sunday 25th October, 10.30am – 12.45pm
Free for the community. Donations welcome.
Some of you will have read about our iNaturalist project, set up by a lovely lady called Sydney who came to the festival, fell in love with the space/land, and has been recording what lives here. Well, she is hosting a BioBlitz morning at Sowena and you are invited! Attend this event to learn how to identify plants, wildlife and more with the help of the iNaturalist app and our resident ambassador Sydney, all while contributing data about the rich biodiversity at Sowena! By uploading anything you see you will automatically join a leaderboard, and most importantly help better understand the biodiversity and species present on our beautiful land.
What is a BioBlitz?
A Bioblitz is an event where a group of people get together to collect as many observations as possible within an allotted time frame. Bio referring to Biology and Blitz referring to a lot of energetic activity. In this case, anyone present on the 25th of October who uploads any pictures to iNaturalist within the 3 hour period will contribute to this event! Photos can also be uploaded after the event, and will usually autofill location and time data. Sydney will show you how to use the iNaturalist app (it’s free & takes two minutes), and then you’re off around the land with your phone, photographing anything living you can find which could be a beetle, a flower, a blade of grass, something yellow….
You don’t need to know what any of it is. Photographing something you can’t name is the single most useful thing you can do, because a naturalist, somewhere in the world, will name it for you. Every record you make joins a genuine scientific database which is basically the coolest thing EVER.
Sydney’s knowledge is remarkable and her enthusiasm is completely contagious. Come with questions and come with curiosity.
Children are natural at this as they get low, look closely, and spot things adults walk straight past so this is a great family friendly morning.
Afterwards we’ll head back to the cabin for a hot drink, share what we found, and pick Sydney’s brain about all of it. Bring a packed lunch/snacks if you’d like to stay and eat together during the feedback session.
What you will need to become a citizen scientist at this Bioblitz:
– A device! Even tablets can be used to take pictures and upload when connected to the internet.
– A email account to set up iNaturalist (you can also do this before arrival if you want to).
Wear boots, bring a charged phone, and come curious.
Please do book this event even though it’s free to attend so we know numbers, thank you and see you in nature!
