Fort Worden BioBlitz

Well, let's now go back to the notion of BioBlitz.

So the first question, of course, is what is a BioBlitz?

Yes.

So BioBlitz is a communal citizen science effort to record as many species, living creatures, living organisms within a designated time and location.

And it's often hosted by a nonprofit called iNaturalist.

Mm hmm.

And listeners will remember, we've talked about the wonders of iNaturalist a little bit in the past.

And that's something I want to talk about more.

But tell us just briefly, what kind of tool iNaturalist is?

So it's a web based platform or app that you can get on your smartphone.

And its whole goal is to collect information about the environment, about those living creatures in your backyards, in your local parks, like anywhere and everywhere.

So people can document what is around them.

And this is a global nonprofit.

So it's really kind of cool to go online and see the map and just like what is out there.

Yeah, which is really interesting to me, too, because I think, well, as you mentioned, it's a community science project.

People who are scientists and naturalists are involved as well as people who are not, volunteers.

And the notion that you can collect information that way, that you can't collect any other way.

The scientists don't have the time, the money, the resources, the whatever.

Right.

that you can get when you have this collaborative effort.

I find that

really fascinating.

Same.

So in terms of the science first, what kind of information is gathered and how is it used? So

the observations that are made by people are then analyzed identified and verified by other community members on iNaturalist.