Bio Blitz!
On Saturday Morning I took a walk down to The Intervale Center to participate in the spectacular nature day and also take part in the Bio Blitz. At the Spectacular Nature Day I was able to log 10 species in inaturalist for the Bio blitz. Some of which include Painted Turtles, Bluebells, Garlic Mustard and Silver Maple. I also toured the different tables and got to partake in activities like planting Ostrich Ferns in order to fight the Goutweed that is spreading across the floodplain so rapidly. I really liked the “eat your invasives table” as well, and I got to try a Garlic Mustard spread, which tasted really good! I thought it was very cool to get to eat a species I found in nature on my own even though it was an invasive. I also learned Garlic mustard is abundant worldwide, and was one of the top-most logged species during the Bio Blitz. Events like the Bio Blitz are great because they get the community involved in nature and get people out and identifying species
Bluebells!
I really enjoyed having my friends come with me to participate in both celebrations and being able to share time outside with them on such a beautiful day. It was also nice to introduce them to stuff that was important to me, for example, planting Fiddleheads and looking for species to log into the Bio Blitz on Inaturalist. My friends even downloaded the app themselves so they could help observe and ID species.
At the “Eat your Invasives” table they had both Knotweed Ice cream and Garlic Mustard spread. I really enjoyed trying both the ice cream and the spread, I thought the spread tasted like pesto and the knotweed to taste like artichokes. I also like speaking to the people at the table about where they sourced the Knotweed and Garlic Mustard, they picked it in a nearby floodplain.
I found this day and both celebrations/events to be very positive experiences and I really loved getting out in nature with my friends and doing something good for ourselves and our environment while also connecting with our community in Burlington both virtually while logging species on Inaturalist and in person when at the Spectacular Nature Day celebration. I would definitely participate in both again next year, and bring more friends!