The 10th Annual Sunshine Coast BioBlitz will be taking place at Irvine’s Landing, Pender Harbour, Aug. 12 and 13. This free event is organized by the Ruby Lake Lagoon Society and sponsored by TD Canada Friends of the Environment Fund.
Part contest, part festival, part educational event and part scientific enterprise, a BioBlitz brings together scientists, naturalists and community members of all ages to count as many species from as many different taxonomic groups as they can in a 24-hour survey of a chosen site.
Since the first BioBlitz in Washington, D.C. in 1996, BioBlitzes have been carried out in countless locations across the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In celebration of Canada 150, there have been more events organized than ever before.
The goals of the Sunshine Coast BioBlitz are to:
• Increase the public’s awareness of the variety of life in their immediate neighbourhood and the ecosystem services these species provide.
• Popularize science and inspire naturalists of all ages.
• Provide valuable scientific data.
• Build partnerships and increase knowledge.
The Sunshine Coast BioBlitz is organized around a base camp, the hub this year being Irvine’s Landing, the future site of the Pender Harbour Ocean Discovery Station (PODS). This centralized location will be equipped with microscopes, computers and other scientific tools of the trade. Species of invertebrates will be identified and recorded, discoveries made, and a tally of diversity noted.
Community members will work alongside scientists at the base camp and join them out in the field to undertake a variety of field sampling activities.
Over the past 10 years, Sunshine Coast BioBlitz events have brought together community members to celebrate, catalogue and record the amazing diversity of life on our Coast. See www.lagoonsociety.com to register.
– Submitted by Lee-Ann Ennis
