Saturday, July 11 at 7 a.m. — WOODSTOCK — Bring your curiosity and a sense of wonder and find something wild in the woods at a Bioblitz! Join the fun on Saturday, July 11 at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock. Some of the region’s best naturalists, botanists, and foresters will be your guides on short expeditions to a selection of habitats within the park. Part scientific endeavor, part festival, part education – a BioBlitz is an event in which teams of volunteer citizen scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to find and identify as many species of plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms as possible in a day. All observations will contribute to the Vermont Atlas of Life. This event is co-hosted by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park.
No experience necessary! People of all ages and skill levels are welcome. Bring a smart phone to learn how to use the iNaturalist app to log discoveries. Bring a camera, binoculars, magnifying glasses, butterfly nets, or gardening gloves. Visit the BioBlitz headquarters at the park’s Forest Center anytime between 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. to join the fun.
Scheduled Bioblitz Habitat explorations all start at the “BioBlitz Headquarters” at the park’s Forest Center. Guided walks to explore different habitats leave from the Forest Center. Come for one, or come for all! Join in a friendly competition to see what team can find the most species. Habitat explorers should come dressed for hiking and bring a snack and water. Teams will add observations to a real-time online website and can watch live updates using the citizen science app as teams find more and more species.
Schedule:
7 – 9 a.m. Birds. The park is home to over 140 species. How many can we find in one day?
9 –11 a.m. Rock Walls. Explore old stone walls and help document every living thing we find among these historic features.
10 a.m. -12 p.m. Streams. From salamanders to water striders, the park’s waterways have a rich diversity of life. Help explore and document the biodiversity of these clear mountain streams.
12 – 1 p.m. Lunch. Bring your own picnic lunch and join us at the Forest Center.
1 – 3 p.m. Old Logs. Join us to discover what is hidden within and beneath old logs on the forest floor. From fungi to invertebrates or even a salamander, we’ll find and document them.
1 – 4 p.m. Mega-Transect. Join us as we walk across the entire park documenting everything that is found – from trees to bees and everything between. This will be a rigorous hike full of discovery.
2 – 4 p.m. Pogue Pond. Using nets, buckets and our cameras, help document the life in the waters of this historic pond.
3 – 5 p.m. Trees, Snags, and Trunks. There’s a lot of life living on both living and dead trees. Explore and photo-document all of it. From insects to lichens and more, how many species can we find living on a tree?
Ongoing activities at BioBlitz Headquarters at the Forest Center:
Summer Junior Ranger Adventure (ages 6-12) – Join a Junior Ranger Habitat Discovery Program from 10 – 11:30 a.m. This hands-on program will help children explore the diversity of the Park’s habitats and creatures. Participants will earn a Summer Junior Ranger Badge and special BioBlitz Junior Ranger prize. Or pick up a self-directed Junior Ranger discovery quest at any time.
iNaturalist app and web site orientation and assistance.
See amazing insects and other critters up close as experts work to determine their identification.
Parking for the event is at the overflow parking at Billings Farm & Museum. For more info, contact 802-457-3368 x 17 or Jo_Anne_Dolan@nps.gov.
