The Lagoon Society is holding its 14th Annual BioBlitz November 2-3 in Madeira Park as part of the Mushroom and Seaweed Festival which will be acting as our basecamp. We need all the help we can get to collect the names of as many species as possible! In particular, we are looking for volunteers to help organize and ideally lead groups at the chosen locations.
The idea of the BioBlitz is to identify as many organisms in a given area in 24 hours. This year we are focussing on Pender Harbour and particularly on Farncis Peninsula. The BioBlitz will officially start on Saturday November 2 at 12pm and finish Sunday November 3, at 12pm, but it’s fine if observers would like to start earlier. The Lagoon Society is working in conjunction with the Sargeant Bay Society this year and their members will be focussing their collecting on Sargeant Bay Park and the Triangle Lake area in Halfmoon Bay.
While there may not be as many animals and plants to be found in the winter, we nonetheless need a winter baseline that can be used to identify changes within the region over time.
Organizers will help collect registration information, organize bystanders that may come and show interest while participating in the Mushroom and Seaweed Festival as well as provide general information about the area. Our BioBlitz Basecamp will be set up outside the back door of the Madeira Park Community Hall. An array of microscopes will be set up to examine specimens more closely and some tanks will also be set up to display marine life. All animals will be returned unharmed to the ocean. We encourage everyone to take as many photographs as they can of local flora and fauna that they come across. These digital files can then be added to our database.
Leaders will conduct walks through locations and educate the group on species that are found in that area. All species are to be recorded. For unidentified species, we encourage people to take photographs, sketches, notes and if appropriate, collect samples for identification back at the community hall. Tablets will be provided for data collection and have all been installed with iNaturalist which aids in data collection.
If you would like to be involved with any of these walks or would like to help out at the tent at the community hall, please contact us at monitoring@lagoonsociety.com.
