What is a BioBlitz?

A BioBlitz is an intensive one-day survey of biodiversity in a specific area. This activity will bring trained naturalists, volunteer citizen-scientists and outdoor enthusiasts together for a common goal. We will organize into small groups, each with at least one expert, and search for all types of plant and animal life: birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, spiders, aquatic invertebrates, trees, shrubs, herbs, mosses, mushrooms, and anything else we might find! Everything we find we will attempt to identify and catalogue, so that by the end of the day we have a good cross-section of the life in our preserves.

Dates and Site Descriptions:

May 4 - Prince River Preserve is located in Barre on the eastern shore of the Old Reservoir. This forest reserve features pine, oak, and hemlock forests, intermixed with pond, stream, and marsh habitats.

July 12 -Wendemuth Meadow is a pastoral property located along Bates Road in North Brookfield. The property features rolling hayfield, wet meadow, and stream surrounded by patchy woods and shrubs.

Event Timing:

Since we are hoping to document as many different plants and animals at each of the sites as possible, and since certain creatures are active at different times, we have broken down the day into three main observational segments.

· 7am-10am: Early Birds: Geared towards birders, this shift will focus on morning bird observations. Bring binoculars.

· 10am-1pm: Morning Shift. This shift will be for general observations with a focus on plant, aquatic invertebrate, reptile, amphibian, and insect life.

· 1pm-2pm: Lunch

· 2pm-5pm: Afternoon Shift. More general observations, featuring dragonflies, damselflies, and mammals as we near dusk.

· 5pm-7pm: Dinner, identifications and cataloguing. A potluck dinner will be organized either on site or nearby for anyone who wants to stick around and compare notes!

*Note: no one need commit for the entire day. We have broken it down into three periods so that we can rotate in different experts and teams throughout the day.

Event Organization:

We will organize into small groups accompanied by an expert, a reporting log, and other necessary tools (i.e. binoculars for the birders, cameras, etc.), and each group will be assigned a section of the site to explore. At the end of the shift, everyone will head back to the specified meeting place and we will compile identifications.

Experts Needed:

All range of experts from the natural sciences will be needed. We are seeking experts with bird, vascular and nonvascular plant, insect, mammal, reptile, amphibian, aquatic invertebrate, arthropod, and fungi identification skills. We would also love to get folks with knowledge of geology, soils and landscape history.

Contact: To sign up, please email Nate at servicelearning@eqlt.org with the subject BioBlitz Expert and your field(s) of expertise, or call 978-501-6963 for additional information.