An initiative of
SPONSORS
EVENT PARTNERS
Want to be part of an outdoor search party exploring plant and animal wildlife with your very own expert?
Imagine peering into bat traps, hunting for reptiles under rocks and logs or searching by torchlight for possums and gliders high in the treetops.
National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) and its NatureKeepers Program in co-operation with the City of Sydney and event partners Centennial Parklands and Moore Park Trust , and Sydney Olympic Park, to bring you an event that lets you do just that, with NatureKeepers BioBlitz08!
Join BioBlitz08 and you will team up with science experts from the fields of Botany, Mammals, Spiders and Insects, Birds, Reptiles and Frogs to participate in a fun, friendly hands-on biodiversity survey of plant and animal wildlife.
Learn, explore, discover and record as many plants and animals as possible over a 24 hour period, and help provide a 'snapshot' account of the wildlife living in your urban backyard.
The data you will collect from surveys taken on the day will be the first of
its the kind to be compiled and made publicly available, helping to make a significant
contribution to the City's understanding of the state of its local biodiversity
On Sunday 28 September 2008, get in touch with your greener side with your friends, family and colleagues and register to participate in BioBlitz08, NPA and NatureKeepers FREE inaugural community biodiversity event!
What is Biodiversity?
"Biodiversity has been described as the 'web of life', 'the variety of
living things' or 'the different plants, animals and micro-organisms, their
genes and ecosystems of which they are a part'. Biodiversity encompasses every
living thing that exists on our planet and the environment in which they live.
From the smallest one-cell microbe to the enormous majesty of the blue whale. From the depths of the Pacific Ocean to peaks of our tallest mountains, biodiversity forms part of an intricate and interdependent web of life in which we are all a part." http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity
Biodiversity Month is held in September each year and aims to promote the importance of protecting, conserving and improving biodiversity both within Australia and across the world.
What is a BioBlitz?
A BioBlitz is a 24-hour inventory of all living organisms in a given area, often an urban park. The term "BioBlitz" was coined by National Park Service naturalist Susan Rudy while assisting with the first BioBlitz at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington D.C. BioBlitz in May 31 - June 1, 1996. Approximately 1000 species were identified at this event. This early BioBlitz was conceived and organized by Sam Droege (USGS) and Dan Roddy (NPS), and inspired many other organizations to do the same.
A bioblitz has the dual aims of establishing the degree of biodiversity in an area and popularising science.
NOTE: Due to the constraints of being able to conduct a 24 hours bioblitz
in urban city parks, to satisfy this criteria, event participants who register
for the first survey session at Centennial Park (0500-0700) will be invited
to participate in a special survey session at this park the afternoon or evening
prior to the event (Saturday). In this survey session, invited participants
will be involved in setting mammal traps that will be checked for findings in
the next day's 5.00am session.
Why is this event important?
Human beings are dependent for their sustenance, health, well-being and enjoyment
of life on biodiversity. We derive all of our food and many medicines and industrial
products from the wild and domesticated components of biological diversity. Biodiversity
is the basis for much of our recreation and tourism, and includes the ecosystems
which provide us with many services such as clean water.
BioBlitz08 aims to educate the community to understand the reasons why it is important to become more environmentally aware; and hopes to be the catalyst for participants' understanding of why making changes in our everyday behaviour to reduce our environmental footprint can have a direct positive effect on our natural environment."
The information collected at BioBlitz08 throughout the day, can be used as a broad indicator of the status of biodiversity in Sydney city's urban parks and can be compared against the information collected at NatureKeepers BioBlitz events in years to come.
Your findings will be compiled and made publicly available, helping to make a significant contribution to Sydney's understanding of the state of its local urban biodiversity.