BioBlitz

BioBlitz

June 25 – July 1, 2023

8:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Indian Creek Nature Center Grounds and Trails

No registration required.

Become a citizen scientist!

Discover unexpected animal and plant species hiding in our woodlands, prairies and wetlands.

Sunday, June 25 – Cedar Overlook and Woodland Trails

Monday, June 26 – Cedar Rapids Prairie and Stimple Prairie

Tuesday, June 27 – Wood Duck Way

Wednesday, June 28 – Cedar Overlook and Woodland Trails

Thursday, June 29 – Věčný Woods

Friday, June 30 – Bena Prairie and Christiansen Prairie

Saturday, July 1 – Lynch Wetland

Enhance your BioBlitz experience by joining a How to ID Session with an expert in plant or animal identification.

Sessions are scheduled throughout the week with different identification experts. Each session will begin with helpful information on how to ID certain species as you explore ICNC’s trails and grounds. The ID experts will help you get comfortable with identifying different species and answer your questions so you will be prepared to discover, identify and observe species on your own.

All the sessions are free but space is limited. Please pre-register here.

102.9 KZIA will be broadcasting live from Indian Creek Nature Center from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Sunday, June 25 – the first day of the BioBlitz.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

What will you discover in a BioBlitz?

Indian Creek Nature Center is hosting our first ever BioBlitz June 25 – July 1 as part of our yearlong celebration of our 50th anniversary.

Bring your family and friends and join the Nature Center and scientific professionals as a citizen scientist in recording biodiversity across Indian Creek Nature Center’s grounds and trails.

Help us to observe as many species as possible during the final week of June. This information will be extremely beneficial to the Nature Center as it will support education and land management decisions.

This event is free and open to all. How to ID Sessions will be available for people looking to have a more in-depth experience discovering, identifying and observing different species. These sessions are free but since space is limited, attendees are asked to pre-register.

If citizen scientists wish to search for biodiversity off trail, please dress appropriately and, as much as possible, not disrupt the environment.

What’s a BioBlitz?

A BioBlitz is a survey involving the community in efforts to document as many living things as possible in a certain area.

We are asking you to use the iNaturalist app to log all of your observations. The iNaturalist app can be found, free of charge, in the Apple App Store and in the Google Play Store.

How To BioBlitz

  1. Download the free iNaturalist app from Google Play or the App Store. Make sure to turn on location services.
  2. Come to Indian Creek Nature Center between 8AM and 8PM
  3. Check with staff to learn what area of the grounds is being ‘Blitzed’ that day, or wandering on your own is always welcome
  4. Record your observations using iNaturalist
  5. That’s it! You can observe as few, or as many, days as you’d like. Every observation helps to better inform future land management decisions.

How To ID Sessions

Learn how to identify different species from local experts in these short, instructional sessions that will prepare you to ID on your own as you explore ICNC’s grounds and trails. Registration is now open!

Tuesday, June 13

Bird ID Hike with Dr. Neil Bernstein 6:00 AM – 8:00 AM capacity 10

Wednesday, June 14

Bird Banding with Dr. Neil Bernstein 6:00 AM – 12:00 PM capacity 20

Sunday, June 25

Tree ID on the Woodland Trails with John Donner 3:00 PM capacity 25

Monday, June 26

Butterfly ID at Christiansen Prairie with Don Ohde 2:00 PM capacity 25

Wildflower ID at Christiansen Prairie with Ryan Elliott 6:00 PM capacity 25

Tuesday, June 27

Dragonfly ID at Wood Duck Way with Don Ohde 10:00 AM capacity: 25

Tree ID at Wood Duck Way with John Donner 12:00 PM capacity 25

Thursday, June 29

Woodland Understory ID at Věčný Woods with Tamra Elliott 1:00 PM capacity 25

Bird ID at Věčný Woods with Jim Durbin 3:00 PM capacity 25

Tree ID at Věčný Woods with John Donner 5:00 PM capacity 25

Blacklight Insect ID at Amazing Space with Jim Durbin 8:45 PM capacity 25

Saturday, July 1

Bird Banding with Dr. Neil Bernstein 6:00 AM – 12:00 PM capacity 25