BioBlitz!
Tracy Barbaro
The Encyclopedia of Life is gearing up to join the National Geographic Society (NGS) and the National Park Service in support of the Indiana Dunes BioBlitz May 15-16, 2009. During this 24-hour event teams of scientists, students, volunteers and community members will observe, identify and record as many plant and animal species as possible at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
EOL is also partnering with NGS to pilot Fieldscope, their online mapping program. High school students will input their findings from the BioBlitz into Fieldscope and eventually this information will be served on EOL. Students will also be using EOL as reference resource prior to going to the field and will be using information from EOL in the field to help them identify plant species in the park. After the BioBlitz students will continue to upload their findings to EOL.
The Encyclopedia of Life staff will be in the field as well as in the Scientist Tent at West Beach at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We will be collecting data and helping participants upload their images and contribute their information to EOL through tagging images and leaving comments about their species observations. Last but not least we will be reporting live from the BioBlitz. So, stay tuned for blog posts, images and videos from the event!