BioBlitz attendees circle up to share lessons from the event. Photo Credit: Naim Edwards
by Naim Edwards (UM EEB M.S. 2014) Director, Michigan State University Detroit Partnership in Food, Learning and Innovation and Tiffany Carey, previously science outreach coordinator, U-M EEB Nyeema Harris AWE Lab and currently, Habitat and Education Coordinator, National Wildlife Foundation, Great Lakes Regional Office
There could not have been better weather for exploring nature than this years BioBlitz at D-Town Farm: clear skies, sunny, high 78 degrees. The University of Michigan Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS) Michigan Chapter conducted its 7th BioBlitz in Detroit, Michigan on May 5, 2018. A BioBlitz is formally known to be a rapid biodiversity assessment of an area attempting to identify all organisms within a specific time frame. In the context of the D-Town Farm BioBlitz, we focus on sampling but also exploring Detroit’s largest farm through the lens of ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation. This year forty excited youth between the ages of 2 and 16-years-old divided into groups with community members, U of M personnel, and volunteers from other biology related organizations. During the event, youth participants were led in identification and describing the various living organisms including plants, fungi, birds, insects, reptiles, and other creatures.
There were also two new stations for activities: “the Trait Race” and “Ant Picnic” led by graduate students Emily Laub, Meagan Simons, Jonathan Morris, and Nicolas Medina. These two activities were a major hit with the youth and added another layer of engagement and ecological learning to the event. The stations and activities were designed so participants could learn ecological concepts like foraging behavior, microhabitat variation, heritable traits, and competition.
A youth participant investigates insects under a microscope. Photo Credit: Naim Edwards
The primary objectives of this educational opportunity are:
· encourage youth to connect with nature
· expose youth participants to people with careers in science, academia and farming
· strengthening the bonds between the University of Michigan and Detroit community
It’s always a pleasure to witness people building deeper relationships with one another through exploring nature together. Children and teens slowly let their guard down over the course of the event, and by the end are holding snakes, snails, worms, and sharing what their favorite new species are. It’s clear we are fostering both a deeper appreciation for life as well as showing youngsters alternative science based career paths.
The 2018 BioBlitz was planned and executed by current and past graduate students in SEAS/SNRE and EEB: Naim Edwards, Michelle Fearon, Tiffany Carey, Beatriz Otero Jimenez, Jonathan Morris, Meagan Simons, Emily Laub, Kristel Sanchez, Alexa White and Clarisse Betancourt.
EEB Chair, Diarmaid O’Foighil, shows the diversity of organisms on a piece of woody debris. Photo credit: Naim Edwards
The BioBlitz was made possible with the donations and generous support from:
· UM Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB)
· UM School of Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
· Detroit Black Community Food Security Network
· Museum of Zoology
· Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
· Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
· Department of African American Studies
· Program in the Environment (PITE)
· Center for Educational Outreach
· Program in Biology
· Voices of Earth Justice
· Avalon Bakery
