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TEXAS A&M CHAPTER EDUCATES, CELEBRATES LOCAL BIODIVERSITY

Discovering, celebrating, and nurturing local biodiversity was the theme of the fifth annual BioBlitz in College Station, Texas. The 24-hour event, held 5-6 April 2002, was organized by the Texas A&M University Chapter of SCB in partnership with the City of College Station Parks and Recreation Department. BioBlitz is a public event that brings together scientists, students, and community members of all ages. For a second consecutive year, the event was held at Lick Creek Park, a 500-acre park that has remained relatively undeveloped.

A record number of 350 participants, volunteers, and community members attended BioBlitz 2002. The event was launched with a barbecue followed by guided walks, insect black lighting, and a late-night search for chorus frogs. Creating a 24-hour inventory of the plants and animals that live in the park was one of the major activities of BioBlitz. Survey teams of university faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and community members identified and recorded species in each of six groups: birds, mammals, fishes, reptiles and amphibians, plants, and invertebrates. Guided walks through the park that were conducted each hour by survey team members provided opportunities for dialogue among citizens and scientists. Throughout the event, local wildlife and environmental organizations exhibited their work and provided educational information. BioBlitz participants also contributed to a simultaneous community event, Keep Brazos Beautiful, by helping to clean Lick Creek. A major goal of BioBlitz was to foster children's interest and appreciation of biodiversity. KidBlitz provided opportunities for hands-on learning, including games such as Biodiversity Bingo. Children also explored pelts, bones, and preserved specimens, and handled and viewed local species of snakes, turtles, insects, and fishes.

BioBlitz 2002 benefited from the leadership of April Conkey, David Laurencio, Jane Packard, Duane Schlitter, and Sheila Walker and from generous sponsors, donors, and grants. The greatest successes of BioBlitz 2002 were the interactions among scientists and citizens, and the encouragement of youth to explore and value local biodiversity. We look forward to extending these successes into BioBlitz 2003!

Leah Brown (Vice President, Texas A&M University Chapter)

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