Bringing the community together for a day of citizen science, stewardship, and fun in Riverside Park.
The first step in stewardship is knowing what is in the environment. To be effective environmental stewards, we have a relationship with the plants and animals, and that means knowing that they’re present in our parks! During BioBlitz, volunteers, community members, and local experts will come together to identify as many species as we can in Riverside Park! This record will give the local scientific community the record to track conservation efforts over time.
BioBlitz will include scientist-led activities throughout the day for participants to join in and contribute to the scientific process. Events will be family- and kid-friendly! In addition to other fun science-based activities, attendees will help to find, identify, and record various species of flora and fauna identified during the event in the iNaturalist app! If you don’t have the app, you can always talk to one of our staff or event partners about what you have found, and they can enter it into the app for you.
Educational activities and resources provided by our partners will help participants learn more about the incredible species you might encounter in the park, and our scientist experts can help with confirming which species you’re noticing as you enjoy Riverside Park!
View the full BioBlitz schedule below.
A BioBlitz is a community-led day of citizen science in which participants work together to find and identify as many species as they can over a short period of time. BioBlitzes were started by National Geographic and are an incredible way for communities to come together, engage in citizen science, and learn about the natural world.
Riverside Park was the obvious first choice for BioBlitz! One of the most ecologically diverse and rich parks in Grand Rapids, Riverside Park is home to diverse wildlife in many different types of ecosystems, including the Grand River. Through dedicated conservation work, we can bring back more native plants and animals. By establishing a baseline alongside community partners and volunteers, we can track the restoration progress in Riverside Park.
At Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, everything we do is powered by community. Our conservation work focuses on volunteer-driven stewardship of natural resources in publicly-owned parks and green spaces in Grand Rapids. To support our work in Riverside Park and across the city, please consider making a gift today.
Friends of Grand Rapids Parks is an equal opportunity provider. This program is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Urban & Community Forestry Program.
