BioBlitz Resource Packet

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Veronica Norris
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Activity, excerpt from Nature in the City: A Guide to Leading Nature Activities with Young People, published by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History BioBlitz Recording Sheets, developed by the

1 BioBlitz Resource Packet A BioBlitz is a biological survey event that involves finding and identifying all living things in a specific area. Host a BioBlitz in your community and engage both children and adults as they study their own outdoor environment! This packet includes: Adventure 3 BioBlitz! Activity, excerpt from Nature in the City: A Guide to Leading Nature Activities with Young People, published by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History BioBlitz Recording Sheets, developed by the Educator Resource Center at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Biodiversity Bingo Game Board, developed by the Educator Resource Center at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Nature in the City: A Guide to Leading Nature Activities with Young People Nature in the City is an innovative educational program designed to open the eyes of young people to the natural diversity that thrives around them, wherever they may live city or suburb. Developed by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Nature in the City is intended for use by teachers, homeschool parents, youth organizations and others who work with grade- school- age children. The program provides a range of activities, many of them game- oriented, that center on an outdoor Field Site. These activities help children develop observation and critical thinking skills as they learn real- world, hands- on science lessons. At the heart of the Nature in the City program is the belief that providing children with opportunities to experience the joy of discovery in nature can be the start of a lifelong appreciation of the natural world. Purchase a copy: To learn more about the Educator Resource Center at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, please visit: resource- center

2 BioBlitz! Wild, Wonderful Words alternate invertebrate mammal vertebrate inventory litter tenant Observation is the key to understanding. Let s go out and look! Missions: To increase powers of observation through close examination of a Field Site. To discover that an urban spot is a good place to study nature. To discover that materials in human-made objects were originally part of nature. At the Lab Identification Practice Choose a plant, bird, mammal and invertebrate that you think may be present at your Field Site. Discuss which characteristics will help you identify it. (Examples: Plant: size, opposite or alternate leaves, shape of leaves, flower size, color and shape, if present, seed size, color and shape, if present. Bird: size, color and markings. Invertebrate: size, color, number of body parts, number of legs, where legs attach to body, where eyes are located.) At the Field Site BioBlitz A BioBlitz is an event that is held to find and identify all the living things in a certain area. Today, you are going to hold your own BioBlitz at your Field Site. If you have a group, divide into teams, or do this individually: 1. Find as many different objects as you can that are human-made. (Examples: glass, brick, fence, trash.) Make a team list of all these items. Some of you may want to draw pictures of them. 2. Find as many different animals as you can that live in or visit the Field Site. Make a list. If you cannot identify some of the animals, draw pictures that will help you look them up in the field guides at the Lab, paying particular attention to the characteristics necessary for identification. 3. Find as many different plants as you can that are growing at the Field Site. Follow the same directions as #2. If you did find and record the trash or litter at your site, clean up what you can, safely. (Careful if there is broken glass or sharp pieces of metal.) BioBlitz! Resources Belwood, Jacqueline Janine. In Ohio s Backyard: Bats. Columbus: Ohio Biological Survey, Bradley, Richard Alan. In Ohio s Backyard: Spiders. Columbus: Ohio Biological Survey, Davis, Jeffrey G. In Ohio s Backyard: Frogs and Toads. Columbus: Ohio Biological Survey, OH, FitzSimmons, David. Animals of Ohio s Ponds and Vernal Pools. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, Pfingsten, Ralph A., et al. Amphibians of Ohio. Columbus: Ohio Biological Survey, Rosche, Larry, O., Judy M. Semroc, and Linda K. Gilbert. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Northeast Ohio. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Species Guides: wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/ species-and-habitats/species-guide-index : plants.usda.gov Wildflowers: naturepreserves.ohiodnr. gov/natural-features-of-ohio/ohioswildflowers Mosses and Lichens: ohiomosslichen.org/ Trees: Insects: Butterflies and Moths: Birds: Mammals: naturalhistory.si.edu/mna Spiders: osumarion.osu.edu/spiderweb/ Supplies Paper, pencils, markers or crayons Poster board Trash bags 7

Notes At the Lab Field Site Inventory Make a Field Site inventory from the results of your BioBlitz. Enter the list in your journal. Add to it as you find new plants and animals.

3 Notes At the Lab Field Site Inventory Make a Field Site inventory from the results of your BioBlitz. Enter the list in your journal. Add to it as you find new plants and animals. Discussion What animals and plants might be present at the Field Site but hidden from view? Which animals might pass through the site but not stay? What materials were used to make the objects observed in #1? (If you don t know, use a dictionary or the internet.) Did these materials come from nature? Alternate Activity Drawing from Nature Using a large sheet of poster board or other paper, create a mural of your field site. For every natural item on your mural, try to include a human-made item. Journal Activity Plant of the Week: Bug of the Week: Word of the Week: Word Review (fill in the blanks): inventory, invertebrates, mammals When we our Field Site, we can group the Field Site tenants in the following categories:, plants, birds and. data, tenants When we record facts about the Field Site, we are collecting specific over a period of time and keeping notes in our Field Site journals. 8

4 BIoBLiTZ Observations Date: Reptiles/Amphibians Location: Record your observations below. Invertebrates Mammals Fish Birds Trees Educator Resource Center 1 Educator Resource Center 2

5 BIoBLiTZ Observations Date: Location: Record your observations by tally marks below. BIoBLiTZ Observations Date: Location: Record your observations by tally marks below. Trees Birds Trees Birds Mammals Reptiles Mammals Reptiles Amphibians Invertebrates Fish Amphibians Invertebrates Fish Educator Resource Center 1 Educator Resource Center 1

6 Bioblitz observations Date: Location: Record your observations below. Bioblitz observations Date: Location: Record your observations below. Animals Animals Educator Resource Center 1 Educator Resource Center 1

7 BIODIVERSITY BINGO BIRDS PLANTS MOSS/LICHEN FLOWERS SPIDERS MAMMALS WORMS FUNGUS AMPHIBIANS INSECTS FREE TREES FISH SPACE REPTILES ANIMAL HOMES FEATHERS ANIMAL TRACKS ANIMAL DROPPINGS EVIDENCE OF ANIMALS ANIMAL FUR HUMAN-MADE ITEMS BONES WATER ROCKS SOIL/DIRT

MASSABESIC AUDUBON CENTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS Let your students Find Science in Nature! Programs correlate with the N.H. Science Literacy Frameworks

MASSABESIC AUDUBON CENTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS Let your students Find Science in Nature! Programs correlate with the N.H. Science Literacy Frameworks Let New Hampshire Audubon help your classroom discover a