2021 Ecoblitz

Ecoblitz Overview!

A Bioblitz is a short-term, intensive survey of all living organisms within a defined area. An Ecoblitz adds a new twist by also surveying non-living attributes such as soil and water conditions. This provides a holistic, ecosystem approach to better understand the environmental conditions and features in which all of living organisms rely on. From this perspective, we are better able to track how changing environmental conditions might affect the biodiversity of a region, such as climate change, drought, or soil composition.

We have teamed with Rancho San Rafael Regional Park to host this exciting event! The Park is a 580-acre urban green space that sees hundreds of visitors every day, and for good reason. Not only is this Park situated at the edge of undeveloped habitat, but it hosts a diversity of activities and spaces from dinosaur-themed playgrounds, to a dog park, to a disc golf course, to a fishing pond, to an arboretum, to nature trails, and to a large network of hiking and biking trails. For those of us who have visited, time flies because there is so much to see! While us humans regularly use this Park, there remains a high diversity of plants and animals native to our area. This includes species associated with the Great Basin desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our goal is to rely on the help of citizen scientists such as yourself to help document this diversity.

This Ecoblitz is happening on Friday, October 1, 2021 @ 7am - 7pm, and this website provides all of the information you need to join! Citizen scientists will use the iNaturalist cell phone app to document their observations. We have teamed up with several TMCC faculty and students to assist with specialized surveys such as vegetation, soil, and water quality. However, citizen scientists are key to making Ecoblitzes successful, and we are recruiting any and all community members to participate in finding and documenting as much biodiversity as possible!

Support for this Ecoblitz is provided by Nevada INBRE, which aims to provide research opportunities for undergraduate students, and donations from several local groups to provide refreshments and schwag for volunteers like you!