You are invited to Olmsted City’s first Bioblitz at FT Proctor Park! Are you wondering what’s growing, flying, crawling, and blooming in Utica in the Spring? Join us on Saturday, April 26th at 12:30 pm for this fun, outdoor event that anyone can enjoy. Continue reading for more information and registration details.
So what is a bioblitz? A bioblitz is a joint project of National Geographic and iNaturalist that is a celebration of biodiversity – all the nature living around us. It’s a community event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. Students, scientists, naturalists, community members of all ages can join together and explore the natural world. Participants at our bioblitz will learn techniques for observing and collecting plant and animal data with the smartphone app iNaturalist, and then put their skills to action searching for nature at FT Proctor Park.
What to expect at the bioblitz? No experience or scientific knowledge is required. In fact, that’s what makes these events so fun – helping people discover the variety of life right around us. Local experts will lead small groups of participants to focus on a particular area of the park. We will search for spring ephemerals and other blooming plants and trees, insects, birds, fungi, and any other living things we encounter. We will record these findings with the iNaturalist app. Bring your children, elementary school age and teenagers too. This is a great way to introduce children to nature and science through observation and discovery.
Why is Olmsted City hosting a bioblitz? We hope to engage our community through an exploration of our local biodiversity, to promote awareness of the natural world around us, and to build community and connections between people and our park.
The results of our bioblitz will also help Olmsted City learn what is currently growing and living in FT Proctor Park in order to better plan for what to plant, what to remove, and what to protect. We will use the data collected to guide our future restoration projects at the park. The data we collect can also be used by scientists all over the world studying biodiversity. We may even discover something not previously observed or known to inhabit our region, possibly even a new species.
How can you participate? First, register here. This will help us determine how many experts and volunteers to have on hand in order to put on a more successful event. Second, if you have a smartphone, download the free iNaturalist app and create an account. You will need an email address, a username, and a password. If you don’t have a smartphone, we encourage you to come and participate! Once you have logged into your iNaturalist account, find our project page and join our Bioblitz Project here. You are now ready to participate! You can practice making observations with the iNaturalist app in your own backyards. If you run into difficulties, don’t let that prevent you from joining us! We will be offering a small tutorial session during the event. Instructions on how to make an observation can be found at this link https://inaturalist.freshdesk.com/how-to-make-an-observation
Finally, please join us on Saturday, April 26th at FT Proctor Park. The event will run from 12:30 to 3 pm. Find us at the pavilion next to the parking lot off Rutger St. Don’t forget to bring your smartphones!
Please wear appropriate clothing and shoes for walking the paved and gravel paths. The grassy areas and lawns are also good areas to make observations. In the wooded areas of the park, we ask everyone to stay on pathways to protect plants that are emerging in the spring. If you find it necessary to step off path to make an observation, please step carefully!
If you are unable to join us, you can find our project on the iNaturalist website where the data we collect will be posted after the event. Check it out and follow along to see what we discover! https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ft-proctor-park-bioblitz-2025
