It’s finally summer! After three months of webinars, Zoom meetings, Instagram Lives, and FaceTime, we wanted to break away from screen-time. It’s time to get outside and explore (while respecting physical distance protocols), on the shores of the Strait we are dedicated to protecting.
That’s why we are so excited to host the Salish Sea BioBlitz from July 3rd through 12th. We are inviting everyone in the region to take part, right from their favourite beach or coastline!
What’s a BioBlitz?
A BioBlitz is a wilderness scavenger hunt where we work together to try to identify as many species as we can in a short period of time. This helps give us a snapshot of an area’s diversity of wildlife, or “biodiversity”. Even if you don’t know a nudibranch from a sand dollar, it’s easy for anyone with a smartphone to participate, because we will be using the iNaturalist app to record the data. iNaturalist can be downloaded onto any phone, and all you have to do is take a picture! The app automatically generates suggestions, or you can submit it without a label and it will get identified by other users.
We are also hosting a series of talks during the BioBlitz that will explore different aspects of the diversity of the Salish Sea:
- Monday, July 6 (4:30pm) – Stories of the Shore with Xwalacktun
- Tuesday, July 7 (4:30pm) – The Next Little Mermaid Should be Black: How does identity impact our access to the ocean? with Chúk Odenigbo
- Wednesday, July 8 (1:30pm) – All About Birds with Caroline Biel from Birds Canada
- Thursday, July 9 (1:30pm) – Exploring the Intertidal with Yuko Lin from Seaquaria Ocean Education
- Friday, July 10 (1:30pm) – Wild about Whales with Amy Rowley from the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network
Participating is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4:
- Register for free on Eventbrite to stay connected and get all the links you need to participate.
- Tune into our live webinars with local experts to discover what you might see during the BioBlitz.
- Download iNaturalist for your iPhone or Android and sign up for the Salish Sea BioBlitz Project.
- Go to your nearest beach or coastline from July 3rd through 12th, and record all the animal and plant life you see! Remember to respect physical distancing measures at all times and any park closures.