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Educators, families, and students are invited to participate in the Great Lakes Bioblitz! The bioblitz will take place in yards and other outdoor spaces that respect the stay home and social distancing practices required at this time.

Webinar notice: This opportunity will be featured in the HOMES at Home series on Thursday, April 16 at 9:30 a.m.CDT/10:30 a.m. EDT. The webinar will show you how to participate in the bioblitz. The webinar is a “how to” for teacher, educators, students, and families. See more details about the webinar at the bottom of this email.

What is the Great Lakes Bioblitz? A bioblitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many wild, living things as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. This bioblitz focuses on Ontario, Canada and the states that have coastline on the Great Lakes, and it runs for four weeks. 

Who should participate? Teachers, educators, students, and families.

Why should I participate? Bioblitzes provide a way to record biodiversity, the variety of wild living things found in a given area. For the Great Lakes Bioblitz, each state will collectively make observations, and the observations from one region can be compared to the observations from another region.

When?

• Starts: Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2020
• Ends: Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Where? The bioblitz will take place in yards and other outdoor spaces all across Ontario, Canada, and the Great Lakes states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. 

How do I participate in the bioblitz?

1. Visit www.inaturalist.org on your computer, or download iNaturalist app from your app store onto your mobile device.
2. Create an account (free).
3. Become a member of the [your state] Bioblitz (CGLL) project.
4. Become a member of the Great Lakes Bioblitz (CGLL) “umbrella” project .
5. Start making observations!

How do I find the projects on iNaturalist? Visit www.inaturalist.org and search for your states’ project [your state name] Great Lakes Biolblitz (CGLL) and the umbrella project or click on the link below:

• Great Lakes Bioblitz (CGLL) - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-lakes-bioblitz-cgll
  
  • Minnesota Bioblitz (CGLL) - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/minnesota-bioblitz-cgll
  • Wisconsin Bioblitz (CGLL) - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wisconsin-bioblitz-cgll

Please note, some of the project pages are still under construction, but they will all be ready by April 22.

Here is how to join the webinar: 

• To join via Zoom, visit  https://msu.zoom.us/j/550958988
• To join via Facebook Live, tune into Michigan Sea Grant Facebook page. 

What if I can’t make that time? You can find a link to the recorded webinar shortly after the 16th here: https://www.michiganseagrant.org/educational-programs/h-o-m-e-s-at-home/

Questions about iNaturalist or the Great Lakes Bioblitz? Contact Marte Kitson at mkitson@d.umn.edu or 218-726-8305.