Environmental groups are teaming up for what they’re calling a Long Island Coastal Bioblitz and are asking on ordinary citizens to help collect information that will guide preservation efforts for important habitats and wildlife for years to come.
Participating in the joint effort are: Seatuck Environmental Association, Long Island Sound Study, Peconic Estuary Partnership, South Shore Estuary Reserve, New York Sea Grant, and the Long Island Invasive Species Management Area. The bioblitz will take place from June 26 to July 3. The goal is “to engage the Long Island community in exploring all of the island’s incredible habitats and species diversity.”
The five East End towns plus Brookhaven are members of the Peconic Estuary Partnership. Shelter Island, surrounded by waters of the Peconic estuary, is the only town that falls entirely within the partnership’s area of interest.
What is a bioblitz?
A bioblitz is a community science effort to record as many species as possible within a designated location and time period. Using a free smartphone app, participants can record all of their observations from birds to plants. These observation will help the sponsoring organizations “better understand the ecological community and biodiversity around Long Island’s vitally important estuaries.”
Anyone can participate following a few simple steps:
- download the free iNaturalist app
- register with iNaturalist so that you can record and share observations
- visit the LI Coastal Bioblitz project page on the Seatuck website to join the project
Only those who join the project can post observations to it. A training webinar will be provided on June 23 at 7 PM to introduce participants to the format. Attendance isn’t mandatory, but it is recommended. For more information and to register for the training webinar, visit LI Coastal Bioblitz.
For more citizen science opportunities, visit Wildlife Monitoring Network Long Island. It was created by Seatuck Environmental Association and the Peconic Estuary Partnership as a one-stop-shop for wildlife monitoring surveys that are conducted for species found throughout the Long Island region.
