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Mini Backyard Bio-Blitz!
Mini Backyard Bio-Blitz!
Find four sticks and mark off a squarish space some place in your backyard. It can be in grass, the woods, on the edge of some pavement or even in a potted plant. Look very carefully at your Mini Blitz spot and how many plants, animals and insects you can find. Do you see any signs of other critters? Record what you see in your Special Spot Journal. Draw pictures, trace objects and write descriptions. If you have a magnifying glass use it to look even closer. If you don't, get really close and poke around a bit. Visit your Mini Blitz weekly to see what changes there have been and record those too!
Find four sticks and mark off a squarish space some place in your backyard. It can be in grass, the woods, on the edge of some pavement or even in a potted plant. Look very carefully at your Mini Blitz spot and how many plants, animals and insects you can find. Do you see any signs of other critters? Record what you see in your Special Spot Journal. Draw pictures, trace objects and write descriptions. If you have a magnifying glass use it to look even closer. If you don't, get really close and poke around a bit. Visit your Mini Blitz weekly to see what changes there have been and record those too!
Some resources to help you identify some of the things you find in your Mini Blitz:
Some resources to help you identify some of the things you find in your Mini Blitz:
The MD Extension "Ask a Gardening Expert" can answer specific questions about plants or insects.
The MD Extension "Ask a Gardening Expert" can answer specific questions about plants or insects.
"The Bug Guy" has lots of pictures of local insects to browse.
"The Bug Guy" has lots of pictures of local insects to browse.
If you can't figure it out take a photo or draw and picture and do some research online!
If you can't figure it out take a photo or draw and picture and do some research online!
This is a freshly fallen sweet gum ball and some older ones that have lost their spikes. How do you think that happened?
If you can use sticks to mark your site so you can visit it again.
Who left a feather here?
You can even find nature on sidewalks! There are at least 5 plants in this picture
This Mini Blitz is in a window box! What do you see?
Mulch is a great place to find insects and other decomposers
Trace some objects you find- like this maple seed
Maybe an animal will visit your spot!
What critter left these bumpy pieces of mud behind?
What animal was snacking on walnuts in this spot? (There is not a walnut tree nearby..)
Did you find any moss?
What a lucky find!
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