Jericho Conservation Commission BioBlitz Page

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The Conservation Commission is committed to public education and strives to help Jericho residents learn more about the natural communities within our town and beyond. As part of its mission to promote connections with nature the Jericho CC hosts occasional Bioblitzes for the town.

A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. At a BioBlitz, scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to get a snapshot of an area’s biodiversity. These events can happen in most any geography—urban,

The Conservation Commission is committed to public education and strives to help Jericho residents learn more about the natural communities within our town and beyond. As part of its mission to promote connections with nature the Jericho CC hosts occasional Bioblitzes for the town.

A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. At a BioBlitz, scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to get a snapshot of an area’s biodiversity. These events can happen in most any geography—urban, rural, or suburban—in areas as small as a backyard or as large as a country. - National Geographic Society

The 2021 fall venue is at Mills Riverside Park. Stay tuned for updates on this community nature project.




The Jericho Conservation Commission recently wrapped up the Spring BioBlitz at Mobbs Farm. More information to come the findings from the BilBlitz.Claytonia caroliniana

Andrena sp. (Mining Bee) on Salix sp. (Willow)











Fall Bioblitz 2020 overview:

The Jericho Conservation Commission hosted a BioBlitz in September 2020 as part of our mission to educate Jericho residents on the natural features in town.

Not only did the BioBlitz encourage people to get outdoors while maintaining social distancing, it enabled our collective observations to contribute to the greater scientific knowledge of Vermont’s flora, fauna, and fungi.

Kent McFarland, from the Vermont Center for EcoStudies, acknowledged the importance of our project in this statement:

“Knowing the identity and occurrence of organisms forms a backbone of understanding of our natural heritage. This knowledge is essential for monitoring the state of biodiversity and ecosystems, developing sound environmental management policies, and making ecologically sustainable development decisions. The interest and help from naturalists, students and other volunteers is invaluable because there simply aren't enough scientists to collect this data alone. Here in Vermont we're lucky to have so many folks interested and willing to help discover and monitor biodiversity across the state.”

Kudos to the many people who came to Mobbs Farm during the two weeks of the BioBlitz and submitted observations to iNaturalist. Another goal in hosting the BioBlitz at Mobbs Farm was to highlight the biodiversity of the park as the Mobbs Committee moves forward in its bid to permanently conserve the land with a conservation easement. We on the Conservation Commission hope that the efforts of so many volunteers will showcase this spot in Jericho as not only important to humans, but also to so many other living beings. It is without a doubt worthy of permanent protection from development.

At the end of two weeks we collectively observed:


  • Plants: 164 species
  • Insects: 95 species
  • Birds: 49 species
  • Fungi: 40 species
  • Mammals: 5 species
  • Arachnids: 2 species
  • Reptiles: 2 species




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    How To Sign up

    about 1 year ago

    The Jericho Conservation Commission is once again hosting a Bioblitz.  This year's location is Mills Riverside Park.

    What is a Bioblitz?

    A Bioblitz is a community science effort to record as many species as possible within a designated location and time period, in this case, our own backyard treasures - our local parks and natural areas.

    About Mills Riverside Park:

    Mills Riverside Park encompasses 216 acres of open meadow and wooded hillside with a stunning view of Mt. Mansfield.  

    The Jericho Underhill Land Trust (JULT) purchased the land now known as Mills Riverside Park on July 14, 1999, through a grant-writing and fundraising effort. JULT donated a conservation easement at this time to the Vermont Land Trust thereby ensuring the permanent protection of this scenic land with sensitive wildlife habitats and extraordinary recreational opportunities. Ownership of the park was transferred to the Jericho Underhill Park District (JUPD) on February 24, 2000, following the creation of this two-town municipal entity. The Jericho Underhill Park District owns Mills Riverside Park and the Board of Trustees are responsible for its management.

    What is our goal?

    Bioblitzes are great ways to connect and learn about the biodiversity around us while generating useful data for science and conservation.

    We want to learn more about the diversity of natural communities that exist within the Mobbs boundaries so we're inviting residents and others to make observations of plants, insects, birds, fungi (photographs or sound recordings) during their walks along the trails.

    Who can Participate?

    Anyone! But you will need to set up an account on iNaturalist to submit your observations.

    Teachers - use this link to get tips on sharing this project with your students: iNaturalist Teacher's Guide

    How do I sign up?

    Getting Started is Easy...

    1. If you don’t already have an account, visit iNaturalist.org and signup.
    2. Go to the Jericho Conservation Commission Bioblitz on iNaturalist and click “Join” in the upper right corner.
    3. Start submitting observations to iNaturalist using your smart phone or tablet and the free iNaturalist app or a camera and your computer! All the observations you make during the project time period (May 8-23) will be automatically added to this project and also to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
    4. Check back on the project regularly to see how many observations you have added and who else has contributed!

    How do I post an observation on iNaturalist?

    It is easy to download the app to your smartphone and then after you have created an account, to begin adding observations. Click here to view a tutorial.

    No smartphone? No problem! You can take photos with any digital camera and upload the files to iNaturalist through the website.

    Here are some additional details

    • You can make observations any time within the specified dates (Sept. 11-19, 2021) as long as you are anywhere on the featured property.
    • This project will allow us to continue safe distancing while exploring nature within Jericho.
    • It's not a race. Take time to carefully observe the things around you.
    • Participants should NOT collect items... follow the "Take only photographs, leave only footprints" mantra.
    • All participants must follow the parking guidelines and rules of the park while participating in the Bioblitz.
    • Your observations also help us discover, map and monitor life across Vermont for the Vermont Atlas of Life on iNaturalist too. Join the growing community of citizen naturalists from around the Green Mountain State in discovering and sharing observations of Vermont life. Your observations can be turned into research-grade, citizen science data that will help us discover, track and ultimately conserve our natural heritage. Over the last 7 years, over 7,600 observers like you have contributed nearly 400,000 observations of about 8,000 species. We’ve discovered new species for the state, documented flower phenology, found new populations of rare plants and animals, and learned about our natural heritage from each other too.
    To add your idea
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    Let's Hear It for Nature!

    over 1 year ago

    Even if you can't make it to one of our Bioblitzes in person we invite you to share your love of nature with us! Please use this space to submit a poem or drawing that captures something about nature that inspires you.  (For drawings, etc. please take a photo of your work and upload the photo)

    To add your idea
    Sign In / Register
    SErnst
    over 1 year ago

    I pause and look down At a fuzzy bumblebee We are both Earthlings

    0 comment
    1
    Katherine Sonnick
    over 1 year ago

    The Nature Poem

    Written by Charlotte (10 years)

    0 comment
    1
    SErnst
    over 1 year ago

    Ode to Goldenrod

    0 comment
    1
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Page last updated: 13 Sep 2021, 09:26 AM