Join scientist-led inventory teams under redwood canopies and over tide pools to discover, count, and document different types of plants and animal species.
Experience the biodiversity and ecological richness of the Golden Gate National Parks.
Enjoy free hands-on activities, exhibits, music, food, and more at the BioBlitz Biodiversity Festival at Crissy Field East Beach in the Presidio of San Francisco! The festival is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
View of the Golden Gate Bridge behind Crissy Marsh. Photography courtesy of the National Park Service.
On March 28–29, 2014, thousands of volunteer scientists, students, teachers and community members will descend upon the Golden Gate National Parks for BioBlitz 2014. Led by National Geographic, in partnership with the National Park Service, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the Presidio Trust, BioBlitz is a 24-hour event to find and identify as many species of plants, animals, microbes, fungi, and other organisms as possible, to explore and document the biodiversity of the parks. Using Bay Area-developed iNaturalist technology, BioBlitzers will be able to upload their findings in real time, and contribute to the broader knowledge base of biodiversity in the region and world. Scientist-led inventories will take place across San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo Counties, at park sites including Muir Woods, Giacomini, the Marin Headlands, Crissy Field, the Presidio, Mori Point, and Rancho Corral de Tierra.
A two-day BioBlitz Biodiversity Festival at East Beach in the Presidio will feature hands-on science and nature exhibits, photography workshops, panel discussions on research and conservation, food, art, entertainment, and more. “Explorers” of all ages can watch scientists at work and “graduate” from Biodiversity University by participating in activities. Crissy Field Center will serve as the basecamp for BioBlitz data collection, and the festival will feature visual updates from inventory sites across the parks, as well as the grand announcement of the total BioBlitz count on Saturday afternoon.
All BioBlitz activities are free and open to the public. (Entrance fees apply at Muir Woods for those not participating in the inventory.) To be part of an inventory team, participants must register online—public registration opens on March 3rd. Spaces on inventory teams are limited and will be filled on a first-come basis, and children aged eight and older must be accompanied by an adult. No registration is required for the free BioBlitz Biodiversity Festival.
Updated information and the full schedule of Golden Gate National Parks BioBlitz programs will be posted at nationalgeographic.com/explorers/projects/bioblitz/golden-gate-california-2014/
For more information about the parks, see nps.gov/goga.
