BioBlitz: monitoring biodiversity
Citizen Science is the involvement of the public in science and scientific research and thus has the potential to create a bridge between science, policy makers, and society as a whole in an impactful way.
To increase the democratization of science and to encourage the growth of citizen science in Europe The European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) has been created: their members have contributed to many significant reference documents in the field of citizen science, such as the 10 Principles of Citizen Science.
Citizen science can be extremely effective also to engage people and explain how science works, one of the ways to do this is through the BioBlitz.
BioBlitz is a concept applied to studies of biodiversity and the environment, and is defined as volunteer collection of biodiversity and environmental data, which contributes to expanding our knowledge of the natural environment, including biological monitoring and the collection or interpretation of natural phenomena. Through a BioBlitz, communities can create a significant resource of biodiversity data in a local area.
More specifically, a BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time, availing of scientific support and making use of technology, e.g. smartphone applications.
In addition, a Bioblitz increases people’s awareness on environmental issues and on their local environment, such as the threat of biodiversity loss. The opportunity to make a difference at local level is a source of motivation for volunteers to get involved in citizen science/Bioblitz projects.
Many Bioblitz events are organized throughout Europe every year, open to anyone who wants to get involved, such as the City Nature Challenge which is also a global event.
You can find a repository of Citizen Science projects in Europe here: https://europa.eu/!qN48Kx
If you are curious and cannot wait to participate in a BioBlitz, the next scheduled one is the EuroBioBlitz. Stay tuned for future updates!
