Delaware Botanic Gardens to host first iNaturalist Bioblitz Aug. 21-24

Delaware Botanic Gardens will hold its first Bioblitz from Thursday to Sunday, Aug. 21 to 24, and the public is invited to help document the biodiversity of the gardens using the free iNaturalist app.

A Bioblitz is a community science event where people work together to record as many species as possible in a set location over a defined period of time. Using iNaturalist, participants can photograph plants, animals and fungi, then upload their observations to the app to contribute to a global database.

Participation in the DBG Bioblitz is free, and iNaturalist is free to download and easy for anyone to use, from beginners to experts. Participants will be required to pay the daily garden admission fee. DBG is located at 30220 Piney Neck Road, Dagsboro.

“I’m excited to welcome guests, volunteers and staff to participate in DBG’s very first Bioblitz,” said Amanda Goebel, garden curator. “We’ve been using iNaturalist to collect data on site for years, and I look forward to seeing what a Bioblitz shows us. This effort should give us a detailed snapshot of what we have on site, whether it’s a fungus, insect, bird or plant.”

“We are excited to see the staff and volunteers getting involved, and hopefully we can engage with guests and members too, since this will be the first of several bioblitzes we plan for spring, summer and fall next year,” said Christine Justice, director of horticulture.

For details on how to participate, go to delawaregardens.org and click on Events.