Community members of all ages are warmly invited to explore and celebrate local biodiversity at the fifth annual Sunshine Coast BioBlitz Aug. 11 and 12.
Part contest, part festival, part educational event, and part scientific enterprise, a BioBlitz is a 24-hour count of everything that grows, creeps, crawls, hops, flies or slithers.
The Sunshine Coast BioBlitz brings together scientists, naturalists and community members to count as many species of plants and animals as they can in a 24-hour survey of all life at various field locations as well as on the Ruby Lake Lagoon Nature Reserve.
Community members will have the opportunity to work together with scientists at the Iris Griffith Centre BioBlitz base camp and join together to undertake a variety of field sampling activities. In addition, naturalists and scientists will lead interactive events including a wildlife night hike, pond dipping, owl calling, bat catch and release, and much more.
BioBlitz is free, and is fun for the whole family. There will be a number of fantastic activities in store for the kids including scavenger hunts, bird nest box building, and touch tanks to get up close and personal with marine life. Kids and parents alike will enjoy working alongside people who are genuinely fascinated with everything from bugs and slugs to sea cucumbers and sea birds.
Unwind after a long day of counting on Saturday with a delicious barbecue (free for kids under 12), and live music featuring the Knotty Dotters Marimba Band.
Stay late for the night time activities around a fire or off in the woods with your headlamp, or come early Saturday for a bird walk and a pancake breakfast to fuel your second day of counting.
Come take a closer look at nature with us!
For more information about the Sunshine Coast BioBlitz see www.lagoonsociety.com or call 604-883-9201.
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