BioBlitz 2010

     Booths at BioBlitz 2010Last week, nature lovers of Brazos Valley had a great time at an interesting event called BioBlitz. The all night event occurred on Friday, April 9th from 6pm until 4pm on Saturday, April 10th. BioBlitz is a 24-hour event during which survey teams of volunteer scientists, teachers, students and families count as many species of plants and animals as they can in a local nature park. In the Bryan College Station area, Lick Creek Park was the destination of this event which is held annually in different areas across the nation.

      Teams of volunteers included past and present students of Texas A&M University, and some professors from Blinn College. They used various methods to study the natural life of the 515.5 acre park such as tracking, trapping, and live observation. Scientists, families, and nature lovers were all invited to learn about the biodiversity of the local park, and to celebrate with kids’ activities at an informational booth. At the booth, talks about birds, insects, plants, fish, mammals, and herps (reptiles and amphibians) were presented by volunteers and professors. After stopping at the booth, everyone continued onto the trail to have live observations of the various species in the park.

      Additionally, in the set-up activity centers, there were displays of allied organizations, businesses, and wildlife exhibits. These included large and small bodied mammals, herps, insects, fish, crawfish, plants, and birds. Real samples gave participants the chance to touch and hold them, and the kids were also given games to play.

      The BioBlitz is a fun and exciting way to learn about the diversity of the biological lives of local parks and to understand how to protect them. BioBlitz takes place in the early spring each year and is a partnership between College Station Parks and Recreation and Texas A&M University. If you missed the event this year, you won’t want to miss it next year!