Join the St. Croix Environmental Association for a day of citizen science and free family fun on Saturday as it hosts its annual Community BioBlitz at the Southgate Coastal Reserve.
The goal of a BioBlitz is to get a count of all the plants, animals, and other organisms living in a particular place, according to SEA, which said Saturday’s event is an opportunity to learn all about the critters of Southgate and do some data collecting yourself.
“Bring the whole family and be scientists for a day as we learn together from environmental experts while identifying plants, birds, bugs, and even creatures of the night,” said Olivia Walton, environmental education coordinator for SEA, in a press release announcing the event.
This is a full day of activities, starting with a Bird Walk at 7:30 a.m. and ending with a talk on our local Creatures of the Night at 5:30 p.m. The expert-led talks/walks will be about 1.5 hours long. Also, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. there will be tables set up with engaging activities for the whole family hosted by the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, East End Marine Park, and more.
Participants are invited to come for a specific activity or join SEA for them all.
Full Schedule
7:30 a.m. — Bird Walk with Jennifer Valiulis of SEA and Claudia Lombard of the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge
9 a.m. — Plant Walk with Rudy O’Reilly of the Natural Resources Conservation Service
11 a.m. — Conservation Walk with Olivia Walton of SEA
1 p.m. — Snorkel Clinic with The Nature Conservancy
3 p.m. — Children’s Book Reading with Walton
5:30 p.m. — Creatures of the Night Walk with Valiulis
Participating agencies — the experts leading the walks and organizations presenting activities — include SEA, the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, The Nature Conservancy, DPNR East End Marine Park, the St. Croix Sea Turtle Project, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and V.I. EPSCoR.
For more information email Walton at owalton@stxenvironmental.org or call the SEA office at 340-773-1989.
