Ivybridge wildlife spotters hold BioBlitz

Name that species!

Residents in Ivybridge are being encouraged to record all the wildlife around them in a fun, family event.

The town council is holding a BioBlitz at Fulham Park tomorrow [Thursday 12 August]

A BioBlitz is an event where people try to find and identify as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. 

The aim is to record all the birds, mammals, insects, plants and fungi that are found via the different activities available on the day. 

A BioBlitz aims to be a citizen science activity is open to all age groups and no prior knowledge is required by the participants. 

Working with local partners such as PL21, Ivybridge in Bloom and Devon Birds, the organisers aim to offer opportunities for everyone to be involved. 

Activities will be running during the day including nature identification walks, a story teller, stalls and lots to do for the whole family.

The event comes in the week that concerns about the environment were raised in a landmark UN report, arguing that global warming could make parts of the world uninhabitable.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s global climate change report highlighted changes to the earth’s climate which are now “irreversible.” 

But local initiatives to preserve biodiversity can help improve the understanding of the environment in which we live and the need to protect it.  

At a BioBlitz, scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to get a snapshot of an area’s biodiversity. 

Among the events in Ivybridge on Thursday are a “Foraging and Forest Bathing Walk” which is a sensory walk.  There will be an opportunity observe the wild edible and medicinal plants of Filham Park.  

Organisers describe it as an “immersive two-hour experience combining the art of foraging with the practice of ‘shinrin-yoku’ (Forest Bathing) to help you to tune more deeply into our natural world.”

The BioBlitz in Fulham Park on 12 August runs from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.  All activities are free of charge.