What is a BioBlitz? It’s a 24-hour event where scientists work together



WAUKESHA COUNTY -- This weekend in Waukesha County if your chance to become a naturalist or researcher. The Milwaukee Public Musuem's third annual BioBlitz takes place at Waukesha County's Fox River Park. That's where Carl spent the morning.



MPM's third annual BioBlitz (website)

What is a BioBlitz? It’s a 24-hour event where scientists work together to see how many species of plants and animals they can find in one area. On Friday, June 9th, some of Wisconsin’s best science minds from MPM and other local institutions will converge on the Waukesha County Park to discover its native biodiversity.

The BioBlitz will be open to the public on Saturday, June 10th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Meet the scientists, see what species they’ve found, and take part in hands-on activities – BioBlitz is fun for the whole family!



Why Fox River Park? This year’s MPM BioBlitz will be held in Fox River Park in Waukesha. This 262 acre park, which sits along the Fox River, features mature woodlands, wetlands, and two wildlife “scrapes.” Scrapes collect and keep water for the benefit of various plants, birds, amphibians, and mammals. They also help with water retention and groundwater recharge. Fox River Park is ideal for 2017 due to the variety of habitats for surveyors to explore. Many of these habitats were not present in our past two BioBlitzes. We anticipate we will find lots of species that were not found in past years! We also chose a Waukesha County park because, as Wisconsin’s natural history museum, we want to branch out and start to explore other counties in Wisconsin.