Come take a closer look at Nature and Celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity!

WHAT IS A BIOBLITZ?: A BioBlitz is a 24-hour count of everything that grows, creeps, crawls, hops, flies or slithers. Part contest, part festival, part educational event, and part scientific enterprise, a BioBlitz brings together scientists, naturalists and community members to count as many species as they can in a 24-hour survey.

WHEN AND WHERE?The Sunshine Coast BioBlitz will take place on the weekend of Saturday May 24 - Sunday May 25, 2008 to coincide with the worldwide "International Day for Biological Diversity" (May 22). The survey will take place within a 10 kilometer radius of the Iris Griffith Interpretive Centre (15386 Sunshine Coast Highway). It will begin at noon on the Saturday and conclude at noon on Sunday.

BIOBLITZ BASE CAMP: The Iris Griffith Centre will serve as the BioBlitz Base Camp, equipped with microscopes, computers, and other scientific tools of the trade. The base camp will be the place were insects are pinned, fungi sorted, and pond water examined. It will be where identifications take place, species are recorded, discoveries are made, and the tally of species is recorded. Community members will have the opportunity to interact with scientists at the Base Camp and also join the experts out into the field as they undertake a variety of field sampling activities.

PUBLIC EVENTS: In addition to the field survey activities, a diversity of special public programs will be offered over the course of the weekend. Scientists and naturalists participating in the BioBlitz will each lead different organized interactive events for community members of all ages to enjoy, such as "Herp Hunt", "Butterfly Count", "Wonderful Wildflowers", "Wildlife Night Hike and Bat Mist Netting", "Pond Dipping", "Meet the Mollusks", "Wildlife Stories", "Dawn Bird Walk", "Mushroom Madness" and much more.

Please visit this website in the coming weeks for a detailed schedule of public BioBlitz events and locations.

GET INVOLVED: If you would like to volunteer, or become an event sponsor, taxonomic group leader or guest speaker, please contact Katie White at 604-740-2542.

HOW TO GET THERE: The Iris Griffith Centre is located at 15386 Sunshine Coast Highway, signposted at 10 minutes past the Petro Canada Station on Highway 101.

Location of the Ruby Lake Lagoon Nature Reserve, Sunshine Coast, BC

Sponsors

The First Sunshine Coast BioBlitz is generously sponsored by Pender Harbour Wildlife Society, BC Nature - Federation of BC Naturalists, and Petro Canada.

The Lagoon Society acknowledges the financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia

Ruby Lake Lagoon Nature Reserve Society RR#1 Site 20 C16 Madeira Park, BC, V0N 2H0 Phone/Fax: 604-883-9893 Email: info@lagoonsociety.com

Iris Griffith Interpretive Centre 15386 Sunshine Coast Highway 101 North (1KM south of Ruby Lake) Phone: 604-883-9201 Open Daily 10AM to 4PM