Celebrate Nature During the Great Canadian BioBlitz
Peterborough, ON – Residents are encouraged to celebrate the beauty of nature and learn more about local biodiversity during the Great Canadian BioBlitz.
A bioblitz is a fun and educational way to record observations of plants, animals, and fungi, that helps scientists better understand local population sizes and biodiversity trends.
Taking place from Saturday, September 19 to Sunday, September 27 the Great Canadian BioBlitz encourages people of all ages to explore parks and natural spaces and contribute to citizen science.
“The Great Canadian BioBlitz offers residents a chance to learn about the quality and quantity of habitat available within Peterborough’s urban parks, community gardens, and other naturalized landscapes,” said Jasmine Gibson, the City of Peterborough’s Planning Ecologist. “Every species documented helps map important green spaces that sustain our community’s biodiverse natural heritage system. With the support of enthusiastic community members lending their knowledge and talents during the Great Canadian BioBlitz can help improve the City’s natural heritage map.”
Residents are encouraged to visit a City park to participate in a self-guided bioblitz using the iNaturalist app to record nature observations. A full list of the City’s parks can be found at peterborough.ca/parks.
To kick off the Great Canadian BioBlitz a series of activities will be held at Ecology Park, 1899 Ashburnham Dr., on Saturday, September 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. hosted by the Peterborough Field Naturalists, Trent University Biology Department, and Ecology Park staff. Education tables will be set up to showcase local insects, mushrooms, and invasive species.
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At 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. the Peterborough Field Naturalists will be conducting a sweep of Ecology Park to identify insects
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At 1 p.m. Ecology Park staff will be hosting a forest walk to identify trees
The Peterborough Field Naturalists are leading two guided walks at Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park, 846 Hwy. 7, to help residents learn more about native mushrooms living in the region. The walks will take place on Sunday, September 20 and Sunday, September 27 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Space is limited. Register for the walks at peterboroughnature.org/events.
A white oak tree will be planted in Beavermead Park, 2011 Ashburnham Dr., on Monday, September 21 at 1 p.m. to mark the weeklong event as well as further enhancing tree biodiversity.
To learn how to use iNaturalist, visit the Peterborough Public Library Learning Portal. Nature sightings can be uploaded directly to the Great Canadian BioBlitz project page in the iNaturalist app using the following link: www.inaturalist.org/projects/the-cwf-great-canadian-bioblitz-le-grand-bioblitz-canadien-de-la-fcf