MONDAY MAY 23 (VICTORIA DAY)
3 - 4:30 p.m. Launch of Belle Park BioBlitz 2022
Round off your holiday weekend with a welcome to the Belle Park Project Team & friends, and an intro to iNaturalist & BioBlitzing from local naturalist Hilbert Buist. If you can carry one with you, a folding chair might be nice.
**Download the app iNaturalist on your device before you come!**
TUESDAY MAY 24
8 - 10 a.m. Belle Park Birdwalk
Join Steve Lougheed, a conservation biologist at Queen’s, to see, hear, and learn about flying friends of all sorts. This guy knows his birds!
2 - 4 p.m. Hilbert Buist available for iNaturalist help
WEDNESDAY MAY 25
9 - 11 a.m. Nature Walk with Hilbert Buist: observing and connecting with iNaturalist
4 - 5:30 p.m. Getting to Know the Belle Park Totem Pole
Join Laurel Claus-Johnson, a member of the Kingston Indigenous community, and Laura Murray, who teaches about Kingston’s Indigenous histories at Queen’s, to learn about the Indigenous men who carved this pole in 1973 and share thoughts about what it means today and what its future may be. Bring a folding chair! In the event of rain, we will announce an alternate date.
THURSDAY MAY 26
9 - 11 a.m. Nature Walk with Hilbert Buist on Belle Island
FRIDAY MAY 27
8 - 10 a.m. Listening to the Dawn Chorus: A Soundwalk
Matt Rogalsky, a professor of Music at Queen’s, has been recording everything from trees to glass bottles and famous musicians for years. Join him to tune your ears to the many sounds of Belle Park.
2 - 4 p.m. Hilbert Buist available for iNaturalist help
SATURDAY MAY 28
8 - 10 a.m. Hilbert Buist available for iNaturalist help
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Plant Sex in the Park
Join Chris Eckert, a professor of Evolutionary Genetics at Queen’s and a great teacher, to learn about what plants get up to under your very nose.
Postponed: 2 - 5 p.m. DIY Aerial Mapping
Who needs drones? Join Dorit Naaman, a professor of Film at Queen’s, to document the park using a large meteorological balloon and a small digital camera. We will offer this session in June. Keep your eyes out for our announcement.
SUNDAY MAY 29
1 - 3 p.m. Bring the whole gang for final bioblitz boost! Hilbert Buist available for iNaturalist help
3 - 5 p.m. Closing Celebration
Bring a folding chair and join us at the picnic tables near the totem pole for a report of the week’s highlights, prizes for most species documented, and live music by Haley Sarfeld and Rogan Gowan-Day. We will provide lemonade and cake!
A Week in Belle Park: BioBlitz and More
What is a bioblitz?
A bioblitz is on-the-ground citizen science. The goal is to document all the living beings in a given area over a short period of time. It is fun, flexible, and easy. No prior experience or naturalist knowledge is required, and all ages are welcome!
How can I participate?
Between May 23-29, we invite you to use the iNaturalist app to document plants, fungi, birds, animals, and insects who call Belle Park home.
We will hold a launch event on May 23 at 3 p.m. At the launch, and at various times during the week, there will be people on site to help you with the app or orient you to the park. If you have used iNaturalist before, or once you get the hang of it, you can blitz on your own any time!
What do I need?
curiosity
a phone with the iNaturalist app downloaded (or a friend with same!)
snacks, water, closed shoes with solid soles, & clothing for the weather
hand lens, binoculars or field guides (optional)
Don’t forget to check for ticks as you head home… and if you find one, photograph it and upload it to iNaturalist!
Why are we doing it?
Belle Park may be built on a former dump, but it is full of life! We want to generate benchmark data of the rich natural diversity of Belle Park. When we repeat the bioblitz in future years we will be able to see what has changed as nature itself transforms the ecosystem of the park over time.
Event meeting place is highlighted in the above image.
To find out more about a BioBlitz and a video about how to use iNaturalist, visit Hilbert Buist’s blog post.