We had a record setting BioBlitz! weekend this year at Sequoyah State Park on the shores of Fort Gibson Lake in eastern Oklahoma. This was our biggest group of biologists – both professional and amateur – that has ever attended our BioBlitz! event. We had over 450 citizen scientists and expert biologists participate in our 24-hour inventory of biological species. People from all over the state, young and old, ran around looking for species in all the right places.
I was so pleased to work so closely with Oklahoma State Parks this year! This was facilitated by my long-term BioBlitz! co-coordinator, Angelina Stancampiano being the new naturalist at the Three Forks Nature Center at the park. We had an amazing schedule of events that ranged from bird walks and herp hikes to kid crafts and storytelling.
BioBlitz! relies on a huge number of people being willing to volunteer their weekend to share their knowledge with our citizen scientists. BioBlitz! couldn’t happen without these biologists contributing their expertise!
This year we tried something new – a Sunday service project. We took on the simple task of cutting down eastern red cedar trees along the main park trail. Although the weather tried to dampen our spirits, the enthusiasm for cutting down this invasive species was strong!
Priscilla H. C. Crawford 