Following the fantastic success of Bioblitz 2009 in Ashton Court, Science City Bristol is proud to be continuing our support for Bioblitz 2010.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: May 21st – 22nd, 2010
Location: Blaise Castle Estate – Lawrence Weston, Bristol
Times: Starts at 9AM on Friday, May 21st through 3PM Saturday, May 22nd*
*Open to the general public 3pm – 9pm on the Friday and 9am – 3pm on the Saturday.
Age: All ages are welcome to attend!
Cost: FREE!
BioBlitz UK
This year (the International Year of Biodiversity) we’re linking up with the other Bioblitz’s around the UK to promote biodiversity and greater public engagement with and understanding of their natural environment. For all the details visit http://www.bioblitzuk.org.uk or contact Savita Custead (savita@bnhc.org.uk) at the Bristol Natural History Consortium.
The current programme looks like:
| Event Location | Date | Event Location | Date |
| Bristol | May 21/22 | Brighton | June 6 |
| Northumberland | May 21/22 | Devon, Nethercombe | June 11/12 |
| New Forest National Park | May 21/22 | Cambridge | July 2/3 |
| Swansea | May 21/22 | Lincolnshire | July 9/10 |
| Isle of Wight | June 2 | Nottingham | July 18 |
| London | June 5 | Lancashire | August 7/8 |
| Derby | June 5/6 | Flintshire | TBC |
What is a BioBlitz event?
A “BioBlitz” is a large scale event that engages large numbers of people with biodiversity, inviting them to get directly involved in surveying and monitoring. The events have three main elements:
- Length – BioBlitz events are run over 24 hours in a single location
- People – BioBlitz events involve large numbers of scientists and members of the public
- Focus – BioBlitz events place equal emphasis on scientific recording and public engagement
What takes place?
During a BioBlitz event scientists and members of the public work together to survey a natural space; seeking, identifying and recording as many species as possible over 24 hours. The majority of events work directly with an environmental records centre or within certain parameters in order to ensure that the data collected will have maximum scientific impact. Previous events have located between 300 and 700 unique species, depending on the site and number of people involved.
BioBlitz events in the UK – International Year of Biodiversity
BioBlitz events originated in the USA in the mid-90’s. They have been run in the UK since 2006. In celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity there are currently 13 events that will take place across the UK.
These events have formed a network in order to cooperate on a number of related national projects, and will be working together to share resources and combine their impacts. The Bristol Natural History Consortium will be promoting all events, including a dedicated national website to be launched in February 2010.
How will the BioBlitzes work together?
The current BioBlitz events have agreed to partner on following projects:
1. Experts / Naturalists
Thanks to support from Natural Environment Research Council we’ll be working together to help scientists, amateur naturalists and taxonomists access events across the UK
2. Volunteers
Thanks to support from v (the national volunteering charity) and the National Student Volunteering Centre we’ll be supporting volunteers across the UK to take part in BioBlitz
3. Schools
Thanks to support from Airbus and a partnership with STEMNET, we’ll be helping schools across the UK access educational opportunities at BioBlitz events across the UK
4. Data and Research
We’ll be focusing on establishing strong scientific outcomes, and a national set of data in partnership with Defra, local record centres and scientists.
March 25th, 2010 7:34 am
[...] currently writing for the Guardian about a hot new trend in conservation: bioblitzing, in which scientists and members of the public record as many species as possible in one area in 24 [...]