Though it's hard to believe here in D.C.—where we've still got more snow piled on most street corners than they've got on the runs at Whistler Mountain—in just a few short months many of my NG colleagues and I will head down to balmy Miami and Biscayne National Park for the fourth annual National Geographic-National Park Service BioBlitz. The two-day species inventory and biodiversity festival gets individuals, families, youth and school groups out into the field (and this year, under the water) on a quest to find and identify as many species of every living thing as possible.
There's no cost to participate in official BioBlitz field expeditions, guided class activities for teachers and students, and a multitude of events at Base Camp, though some excursions will have enrollment caps and require preregistration.
Prior 'Blitzes in D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, L.A.'s Santa Monica Mountains, and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore near Chicago brought out thousands of participants and were an all-around fabulous and inspirational time.
So if you're close enough to Homestead, Florida and Biscayne National Park to walk, bike, drive, or swim there, mark April 30 and May 1, 2010 on your calendar and plan to join us. Or plan your Florida vacation around the Biscayne BioBlitz! (You can always round out the weekend with a visit to Hogwarts.) Watch BlogWild and our BioBlitz page for details on public event registration, which opens sometime near the middle of March.
If you're a primary or secondary teacher in south Florida, or a terrestrial or marine biologist with skill identifying species of fish, or birds, or plants, or insects, or microbes, or fungi, or whatever other living taxa might be found in and around Biscayne Bay, you've got just a few more days to sign up for the event! Registration for teachers planning to bring school groups and for scientist volunteers to lead field teams and identify critters at Base Camp closes March 1st. (UPDATE: Scientist registration extended through March 7th!) If you would like to volunteer to help with BioBlitz logistics, you can do so here.
Photos courtesy the National Park Service