This, our fourth BioBlitz will give an early Fall look at the living things at Thorn Preserve in Woodstock. Small groups, led by experts will go into the field at different times of day to explore for birds, herbaceous plants, butterfly caterpillars, trees, mosses, lichens, aquatic macroinvertebrates, reptiles and amphibians. There will an electrofishing demonstration, nature activities for children, animal tracking and much discussion of habitat and the interrelatedness of living things.
The idea of the BioBlitz was inspired by the great Harvard biologist and champion of biodivertsity preservation, E.O. Wilson. 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. In fact, worldwide, we may be witnessing what amounts to a mass extinction (loss of biodiversity) as great in extent as the one that saw the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago. In the end this will negatively affect human life as well because we are all interdependent. A step to solving this great problem is to discover and understand the importance of biodiversity.
The BioBlitz has as its goals to bring, scientists, naturalists and the public together in a picnic atmosphere to discover and record as many of the living organisms in an area as possible and to understand the network of interrelationships between them. This is both a scientific endeavor where important discoveries are sometimes made and an opportunity for people of all ages from the community to discover the magnificent depth and breadth of nature in their own backyard.
Bioblitz 2018 was programmed in partnership with the Woodstock Land Conservancy. This year Woodstock Land Conservancy was fortunate to receive a grant from the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation underwriting the appearance of the naturalists and scientists.
To sign up for any of the walks (optional) please contact Georgia Asher at gkasher@gmail.com. Please, no dogs.
Learn more about what you can do and find the complete schedule at https://thornpreservebioblitz.com/