As my first Bioblitz I wasn’t sure what to expect, but am pleasantly surprised at the wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm from members of the public, naturalists and volunteers alike.
Conduct an inventory of the wildlife in Ashton Court: no mean feat, to anyone that knows this vast local park. One man I met thought it was an amazing concept but aptly described it as a “mammoth task”. But yet, every 10 to 15 minutes or so, keen teams of naturalists, accompanied by members of the public make their way on mini-natural adventures, discovering and identifying the plants, insects, flowers and other wildlife that inhabits the park.
This second day of the “blitz” has got off to a great start even in the early morning, from dog walkers drawn into the action and parents with keen little tricyclers to others travelling from far and wide to come and experience a slice of the bio action.
Trudy, from Open University has travelled 5 hours from Cornwall to be here today. She’s keen to encourage people to become interested in identifying wildlife and species. No newcomer to the bioblitz concept,Trudy has been involved in a bioblitz every year in Falmouth, conducting an inventory of marine wildlife in the coastal area there, where she says the event attracts a great following year on year. “It’s great to see the same thing now happening in Bristol”.
Margarida, from University of West of England Science and communications department couldn’t agree more. She sees the event from a different perspective. Here to evaluate the effectiveness of science and communications events in non-traditional places, she explains that the beauty of a biobltiz is being able to engage and educate the public without them feeling that they’ve been to a lecture. The organic experience of learning about science whilst going about normal activites mean people take a more relaxed and enthusiastic approach to the subject and as a result learn through having fun.
You only need to look at the faces of the troups of eager children running around the park, to know that Margarida and her team are onto something! There’s a constant throng of excited kids playing detective aorund the pond, not to mention the excited screams emanating from the “biodiversity Jenga”game…
“Why’s there an action man balanced on the top?” That’s because Man is in a stable position at the top of the food chain, explains Ben and Jenny. Each of the Jenga blocks represents an animal in the food chain, and when a child removes a block further down, they can visually see why taking out one of the insects or animals from the food chain destabilises the whole chain of animals, man included. It’s such a visual way for kids to learn, and have fun! It also helps them ask questions, which are answered in the fantastic display of learning materials in the BioBlitz tent.
Pamela, another keen volunteer, has travelled from Nottingham to be here. She is a genetics PhD student but has never been to anything like this before. Pamela thinks the event is brilliant for getting people involved in identifying wildlife. You don’t need to be an expert, “you are the eyes that spot and discover, and the naturalists tell you what it is you’ve found! We went on a 2 hour walk, and just from me looking here and there and pointing “what’s that?!” from time to time, we discovered a rare/unusual fern that the naturalist hadn’t seen before.”
Trudy’s experience shows the real potential of an event like this. Anyone can become a wildlife detective, and discovering just how rich a flora and fauna is present in the local surroundings can be a very stimulating experience.
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