Every year, members of the Wildscreen team pull together to help out at our local BioBlitz. BioBlitz events take place all over the UK, and are a race against the clock to seek, identify and record as many species as possible in a natural space.

Scientists with different areas of expertise set off to explore the surroundings with school kids and members of the public. From spiders to sparrows, foxes to fungi and bats to buttercups, the team has it covered!

Pete, the "Bug Man" sweeping for bugs

What a perfect opportunity to learn more about nature on our doorstep. This year we were at Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol, and the weather was spectacular! From 9am on Friday 25th to 3pm on Saturday 26th May, the experts were seeking out species from across the site.

Wildscreen Bristol BioBlitz 2012 Team

So, how did Wildscreen help?

Media Team

Recording everything that’s going on, from the best moments of the event to the latest species tally, was the Wildscreen Media Team. You can catch up with all of the action on the Bristol BioBlitz Blog, watch one minute interviews with some of the naturalists and have a look at the highlights of the event captured in the BioBlitz Bristol Flickr page.

Hannah and Ben from the Wildscreen Media Team

Guides

Some of the Wildscreen team volunteered as guides to help out the naturalists. A few of the activities included sweeping for insects, listening to bird song, identifying plants and completing the all important recording sheets to keep track of what’s been found.

Lauren helping kids collect insects

A few of our favourite photos from the event:

Pretty in pink

Harlequin ladybirds

Taking a closer look

Funniest photo

Total species identified so far = 454!

8 species have never been recorded in Bristol before and 1 species was a new record for Avon. The total is set to rise as specialists confirm unidentified species.

Savita Custead and Matt Harcourt from the BNHC revealing the species total

A big thank you to Arnos Vale for hosting this year’s BioBlitz and to everyone else who was involved!

If you missed the Bristol BioBlitz, why not check to see where your local BioBlitz is.

Wildscreen Bristol BioBlitz 2012 Team

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With an office full of biologists it was only natural that given the opportunity to help out at the Bristol BioBlitz many of the ARKive team jumped at the chance to get their hands dirty and swap their computers for cameras and clipboards. BioBlitz is a national event, exploring and recording the biological diversity of an area against the clock, while getting people of all ages engaged and excited about the wonder of wildlife found so close to home.

The team of Wildscreen volunteers

There was an extraordinary variety of walks and events to get involved with, from bat spotting to bug hunting and pond dipping to fungal forays, and our volunteers helped with the lot – but what did being a volunteer actually involve?

Becky – Guide

Becky identifying freshwater invertebrates

I was one of the Guides for the day which involved helping out the Naturalists as they showed school children and members of the public around on various nature walks. I also had a go at pond dipping and identifying some species helping towards the BioBlitz grand total!

What was your BioBlitz highlight?

My BioBlitz highlight has got to be just the Naturalists in general! Their level of knowledge was just phenomenal yet they were approachable and incredibly entertaining! One of my favourite species, discovered while pond dipping, was the palmate newt, which I’ve never seen before.

Helen – Media Team

Helen with camera at the ready

My job was to follow the groups going out and about around the grounds of Tyntesfield with a camera, to film or photograph the things they were finding. We wanted to document everything that was going on, what they were getting involved with and how much fun they were having! I was also involved with editing the film footage into the videos for the blog, and in writing blog posts to keep everyone up to date on the latest BioBlitz happenings.  

What was your BioBlitz highlight?

I got the chance to have my first ever play with the Sony Z1 camera which was very exciting! I filmed a group of school children out looking for nibbled hazelnuts in Truckle Woods. They wanted to find evidence of dormice and although we didn’t see any we came across all sorts of other exciting finds, such as the brilliantly named King Alfred’s cakes.

For a more detailed look at the role of a volunteer and to see what we got up to all weekend why not take a look at our film.

This year the Bristol BioBlitz took place at Tyntesfield from 9am on Friday 20^th to 3pm Saturday 21^st May. During this 30 hour stint the combined efforts of Guides, Stewards, Naturalists and the all important public led to the discovery of a record-breaking species total of 779! This included 121 notable species, (meaning that they have particular ecological significance), 25 that have never been recorded in North Somerset, and 15 species that have not been seen before in the whole of Avon – quite an achievement I hope you’ll agree.

For a full rundown of all the events of the Bristol BioBlitz, including many more videos and photographs, check out the Bristol BioBlitz blog.

Laura Sutherland, ARKive Media Researcher

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