Please visit BioBlitz2016.com for full details and updated schedule. More details below.

Woodstock Land conservancy and the Catskill Center present A SPECIAL TWO-DAY EVENT FRI, JUNE I0 (8am–10pm) and SAT, JUNE II (9:30am–5:30pm) Rain dates: June 17 and 18

Want to get down and dirty with our local flora, fauna, and fungi? Grab a group of friends for a fun-filled outdoor adventure! Participants are needed to work with the biologists who will be gathering data. This is a hands-on opportunity to learn more about biodiversity. You’ll help create a database with photographs, written records and maps. Volunteers (high school age and older) are welcome to assist in data collection by working beside scientists throughout Friday and Saturday.   All curious members of the community are invited to come along to observe the scientific process. Refreshments and snacks are provided. Please bring a bag lunch and provide your own transportation.

THREE WAYS TO PARTICIPATE 1. Just show up June 10th and/or 11th . Fun events are scheduled all day, both days. No pre-registration necessary. 2. Volunteer to help out at “Base Camp” and go into the field with the experts.  3. Become a "Citizen Scientist" to take photos and record field data.  For this you will need to attend a short training session on one of these days: Wed., June 1 at 6pm: Thorn Preserve 55 John Joy Road, Woodstock, NY Sun., June 5 at 12:30pm: Catskill Interpretive Center 5096 Rte 28, Mt Tremper, NY, 12457

For a detailed schedule of events, explorations, and experts, visit: BIO BLITZ 20I6.COM

THORN PRESERVE 55 John Joy Road, Woodstock, NY Thorn Preserve is comprised of 60 beautiful acres of largely open space with 10 acres of woodland. Sweeping grassland habitat for birds, butterflies and pollinators, riparian forest, wetland and ponds make this spot a profoundly relaxing and peaceful area. With breath-taking mountain vistas, Thorn Preserve boasts the most painted views of Overlook Mountain. Thorn Preserve will remain an undeveloped landscape, which will allow us to oer nature-based education, sustainable agriculture, model stream management and possibly an ideal artists' retreat. Owned by the Catskill Center, Thorn Preserve is operated in partnership by the Catskill Center and Woodstock Land Conservancy.

WHAT IS A BIOBLITZ? ‘Bio’ means life, and a ‘Blitz’ is a quick, energetic eort. Together, they make ‘BioBlitz,’ a collaborative race against the clock to discover as many species of plants, animals, and fungi as possible within a set location, over a set time period (usually 24 hours). The BioBlitz at Thorn Preserve pairs scientists and expert naturalists together with students and other community members to study the wildlife of the area. Over the course of two days, we’ll create a snapshot of the wide range of life on the Preserve. It’s a fun and informal way to learn together, pairing knowledge with a raw enthusiasm for nature. 

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY– Just a curiosity and love of nature. Areas of exploration will include: birds, mammals, insects, woody plants, herbacious plants, grasses, fish/aquatics, invasives, soil/geology, moss, butterflies/moths.

UNDERSTANDING BIODIVERSITY The term “BioBlitz” was first coined by U.S. National Park Service naturalist Susan Rudy while assisting with the first BioBlitz at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington D.C. in 1996. Approximately 1000 species were identified at this first event! BioBlitz events today are inspired by Harvard biologist and champion of biodiversity preservation, E.O. Wilson, who developed a program with wildlife expert Peter Alden to catalog the organisms around Walden Pond. Wilson believes species are going extinct at an alarming rate, often before they are even discovered, due to factors such as pollution, climate change and the conversion of wild places to housing lots, farms, shopping malls, roads, etc. He fears we may be witnessing a massive loss of biodiversity as great as the one that saw the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago. A big step to solving this dilemma is to discover and understand the importance of biodiversity within our own community. FOR MORE INFO: email: gkasher@gmail.com call: 845-679-9629 visit: BioBlitz2016.com

The fields, forests, ponds, and streams of Ulster County are bursting with a wide variety of trees, grasses, flowers, insects, birds, fish, and mammals of all sizes!

At Thorn Preserve, experts will go into the Preserve with teams composed of adult community members, and  high school and college students to find what species live on this 60 acre Preserve.  The findings will be recorded, photographed, listed and added to a map.

We also welcome discussions of species interactions, relationship of species to habitat, to soils to weather, etc.  We hope to stimulate enthusiasm for biodiversity and to gather information useful in making stewardship decisions for this newly acquired piece of land.