Protecting and restoring the Rahway River and its ecosystem

Plan a Bioblitz!

Bioblitz Planning and Procedures

Urban Parks are typically found in cities and older suburbs of New Jersey.  In many cases, these parks are but a unit in a larger county park system some of which were designed and built over a century ago.  Over time, these parks have undergone change, depending upon the financial commitment of the managing parks agency, the will of elected leaders and to some degree the support of the community that utilizes the park. Yet with neglect and shifting priorities, the role of the park as a haven for wildlife and native plants disappear altogether. Over generations the original purpose that led to the park creation becomes a forgotten ethic in search of a revival.

The goal of a bioblitz is to conduct a 24 hour survey of an urban park in search of the maximum number of species of fauna and flora that can be identified.  Implementing the bioblitz with the assistance of a suite of sister organizations and an army of volunteers is an organizational challenge.  Fostering public awareness and developing a series of programs for the benefit of the public are two additional indispensable objectives of a successful bioblitz.

The leading organization should decide early on whether the bioblitz will be strictly a scientific effort to collect information, or if the Public will be included.  A bioblitz offers an excellent opportunity to educate the Public about biodiversity and why it's important for all of us, and it also serves to help make the Public aware of the outstanding resource that is generally right in their own back yard.

Frequently, people think they need to escape to the wilderness to find nature, when in almost all situations; there are a tremendous amount of creatures and interesting plant life right in their local parks.  The Rahway River Association decided to include the Public in each of the bioblitz's we conducted in Union County in 2005 and 2006.

The following outline to the right is based on including the Public in the bioblitz: