By Renee Sweany | Development Coordinator
While the year hasn't gone quite as expected, SEA has adapted and we are eager for BioBlitz 2020. SEA held our first BioBlitz at Southgate Coastal Reserve in 2010. The new findings this year will allow us to compare data from the past decade to better understand St. Croix's biodiversity and how to support our unique flora and fauna.
A BioBlitz is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers conduct an intensive field study over a continuous time period, usually 24 hours. SEA's BioBlitz at Southgate Coastal Reserve will be December 5.
Due to CoVID concerns, the in-person aspect of the BioBlitz will be limited to small teams of experts and select volunteer assistants. The assistants will be made up of other experts, and up and coming high school and college students with an interest in environmental sciences and biology. Each team will do a full inventory of their taxonomic group (eg. birds, bats, plants, insects, etc.).
The Bioblitz will be streamed through an online platform (likely Facebook live) so the community can follow along as the experts conduct their surveys. Interviews with the experts will also be taped so short videos about interesting aspects of the flora and fauna of the Southgate Coastal Reserve can be available beyond just the date of the Bioblitz.
A checklist of some of the common flora and fauna of the Virgin Islands will be created and made available for anyone that is interested in identifying species on their own. Be sure to follow SEA on Facebook for more information as it becomes available!
In the meantime, check out our series of Supporting Wildlife After Hurricanes videos, made possible by a disaster recovery grant from GlobalGiving. These videos offer ideas on how to support bats, bees and birds after a hurricane or in other extreme weather.
By Renee Sweany | Development Coordinator
By Renee Sweany | Development Coordinator
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