Get Outside This Spring with BioBlitz

Lingering winter got you down? It’s time to think of bioblitzing! 

You, your family, and your learners can
celebrate Earth Day with the Center for Great Lakes Literacy’s/Sea Grant 7th Annual Great Lakes BioBlitz! This event is a great opportunity to engage youth and the public in community science, collect data to support biodiversity research and conservation, and learn more about the organisms in the Great Lakes Basin.

What is the Great Lakes BioBlitz?

A free event that focuses on finding and identifying as many wild, living things as possible in the Canadian provinces and the U.S. states that have coastline on the Great Lakes during a specified period of time. You need not be in the Great Lakes basin watershed to participate, just in a Great Lakes state or province.

When is it?

It begins on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, and runs for 4 weeks, ending on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

How do I participate?

The beauty of this project is that you decide your level of participation! Take an afternoon to explore and document some plants or wildlife in an area, or pick a location to return to weekly, or set a goal to find something new every day–there are many ways to participate. 

1. Visit iNaturalist or download the app onto your phone and create an account.  
2. Become a member of the 2026 Great Lakes BioBlitz project
3. Get outside, get out your cameras, and start making and posting observations!

[Additional action: As you are able, verify other participants' Great Lakes BioBlitz Project postings to make them “research grade.”]

Why participate? 

There are many benefits of becoming a BioBlitz wizard, here are just a few:

• Engage in an outdoor activity, discover the wild living things in the world around you, form and strengthen a place-based connection
• Join a global community of observers, learners, and scientists passionate about biodiversity and the Great Lakes
• Contribute to a global database of organisms. Observations made on iNaturalists contribute to research, conservation, and educational outreach programs

And please note: you don't need to bioblitz for four weeks – you can do it for an hour, a day, etc.

Want to learn more?

• Visit the Great Lakes BioBlitz Educator Google Site for more information about the project and educator resources for engaging youth in this wonderful learning experience!
• All the links for the BioBlitz are also available on the WiSG Webpage.

Want to help market this event to others? 

Her are some resources to help you get the word out:

• 2026 BioBlitz Poster 
• 2026 BioBlitz Challenges 
• 2026 BioBlitz Social Media Post

The BioBlitz is Coming!

What is the Great Lakes BioBlitz?

A free event that focuses on finding and identifying as many wild, living things as possible in the Canadian provinces and U.S. states that border the Great Lakes during a specified period of time.

When is the Great Lakes BioBlitz?

The BioBlitz begins on Earth Day (Saturday, April 22, 2023) and it runs for 4 weeks, ending on Saturday, May 20, 2023.

 

How do I participate in the Great Lakes BioBlitz?

The beauty of this project is that you decide your level of participation! Take an afternoon to explore and document some plants or wildlife in an area, or pick a location to return to weekly, or set a goal to find something new every day–there are many ways to participate. You may participate as an individual, a family, a class, or other group!

 

Joining is as easy as saying “One-two-three-CHEESE!”

1. Visit iNaturalist or download the app onto your phone and create an account.  
2. Visit and become a member of the Great Lakes BioBlitz project.
3. Get outside, get out your cameras, and start making and posting observations!
4. To be a Bioblitz wizard, verify other participants' Great Lakes BioBlitz Project postings.

 

Want to learn more about the Great Lake BioBlitz?

Visit the Great Lakes BioBlitz Resources webpage for more information about the project and educator resources for engaging youth in this wonderful learning experience!

 

WEBINAR! Want to learn more about a community science project that uses iNaturalist data?

Register for and attend the 2023 Great Lakes BioBlitz Webinar featuring guest scientist Dr. David Drake of the UW Madison, Urban Canid Project! Join us April 12, at 4:00PM to 5:30PM CDT, on Zoom to learn about how Dr. Drake and his team are using iNaturalist to better manage urban coyotes and red foxes. It uses iNaturalist to collect the public's sightings of coyotes and red foxes in the Madison area. His presentation will describe the type of iNaturalist data collected and how the information is used for improved urban canid management. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Please contact Anne Moser at akmoser@aqua.wisc.edu or (608) 262 3069 if you have any questions regarding registration, the webinar, or have accommodations and accessibility requests.

 

Why would we want to encourage our community to do this? 

There are so many benefits of becoming a BioBlitz wizard:

1. Engage in an outdoor activity, discover the wild living things in the world around you, form and strengthen a connection to your place
2. Join a global community of observers, learners, and scientists passionate about biodiversity and the Great Lakes
3. Contribute to a global database of organisms. Observations made on iNaturalists contribute to research, conservation, and educational outreach programs!!!!

 

Let me know if you have any questions! Time to get outside.

 

Anne

      

	Anne Moser Senior Special Librarian, Wisconsin Water Library Education Coordinator, Wisconsin Sea Grant University of Wisconsin-Madison 608-262-3069 seagrant.wisc.edu | wri.wisc.edu | wiscwaterlib

WI State Park Passes at Libraries

You may have heard of “Check Out Wisconsin State Parks,” a program that resulted from a collaboration between the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries, the Wisconsin DNR Bureau of Parks and Recreation, Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. This winter, 20 libraries were invited to participate in a pilot program to distribute state park day passes at public libraries around the state.  

That pilot program is still underway, but we are already planning for the next phase of the program. The Wisconsin DNR has some partners that have expressed interest in helping to fund the program in the future, but we are also talking about ways to open the program across the state by allowing libraries to purchase their own passes for distribution.  

Please see the attached flyer for a little more information from the DNR about how you can get involved. 

If your library would like to purchase passes to participate in the program, please take this library interest survey before March 1, 2023:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCS9LVG 

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments you’d like to share as well. 

Thank you!  

Teresa Schmidt      She/her

Director, Mercer Public Library

2648W Margaret Street, Mercer, WI 54547

715-476-2366 | director@mercerpubliclibrary.org

No Child Left Inside

Image by Patricia Román from Pixabay 

Recently, I completed a Master Naturalist Volunteer program to become certified in MN as an interpreter, citizen scientist and volunteer at parks, nature centers and natural areas. In the course of the intensive training, we learned alot about the importance of encouraging kids to enjoy nature. It was a natural fit for me because I always tried to include time outside or in nature as part of many of my programs. 

Libraries can definitely be a leader in this area in their programming.

Sarah Cournoyer recently shared a link on Facebook from Children & Nature Network:

"Today, there are over 580 nature-based preschools, forest kindergartens and outdoor preschools in the U.S., and that number has more than doubled in the past three years.

In response to the growing demand for outdoor and nature-based early childhood education, the University of Cincinnati announced on July 12 that it will begin offering a first-of-its-kind online child childhood education degree with a focus on nature-based early learning.

Learn more about this new program here."

Children & Nature Network website states: "We believe that the well-being of children and the wild places we love are inextricably linked. And while research tells us that regular time outdoors is essential for children’s healthy development, today’s kids are less connected to nature than ever before."

There are lots of opportunities to program with kids and families outside (as we learned during the pandemic) - from using things in nature to make or inspire art, to guided walks in parks, natural areas and waterways. The resources at Children and Nature Network website can give us even more ideas.

Get Kids Out and Exploring Wisconsin's Wonderful Natural Resources with the DNR's Wisconsin Explorer Program!

Check out this super fun program from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources! 

"Make tracks to the nearest state park, forest, trail or recreation area and ask for a free Wisconsin Explorer booklet. Inside you'll find nature activities, scavenger hunts, games, hikes and crafts to help you explore Wisconsin's great outdoors together.

Kids who complete the requirements will earn collectible state symbol patches. Don't just sit there - get out and start discovering secrets together!"

Wisconsin Explorer Program

Early Childhood Nature and Play Workshop Opportunity

On Tuesday March 12 in Madison, as part of a larger Preserving Early Childhood Conference, there is a stand-alone full-day workshop being offered to help teachers (and includes librarians!) involve young children in outdoor exploration and play.

The registered workshop, Play and Wonder in Nature, is $100. Workshop description: "Spend the day (9:00 - 4:00) exploring how outdoor play and nature-based learning enriches the whole child, as well as your teaching experience. Come dressed for the weather as we venture outdoors to explore ways to adapt lessons to incorporate play-based learning and strengthen our own connection to nature. Participants will become certified to use Growing Up Wild from Project Wild and Getting Little Feet Wet from Project Wet and receive activity guides as well as inspiration to take play-based learning outside!"

To read more about the workshop and register, please stop here.

Rockin' Crafts

Rocks rock.  Let's be frank. 

You can paint them, draw on them with Sharpies and/or crayons, or just use them as they are!  If you're planning a large program and need oodles of supplies, you can always buy bags of rocks from a hardware store or a garden center.  Otherwise, go on an adventure (take the kids on a nature walk, rock out a scavenger hunt, etc.) and gather your supplies!

What do you do with all these rocks once you have them?  I'm glad you asked!

How about Kindness Rocks?  Sprinkle kindness around like confetti!

Story Rocks (or Story Stones) are a super fun and easy activity that will encourage continued play and exploration!  Give the kiddos the stones, a simple prompt--for example: "Choose 5 stones and write a story that incorporates all of them."--and watch them go!

If you're looking for inspiration on additional ways to use your Story Rocks, simply Google and you shall receive what you seek in abundance.

Here's another fun option: Land Art!  

This can incorporate rocks, of course, but the possibilities are endless!  Check out this article found on The Artful Parent blog where they spoke with Richard Shilling, the author of the Land Art for Kids book series.

You can also create games!  Tic-Tac-Toe, Dominos, you name it!  Or perhaps a matching game is more your speed?  You could decorate stones--or have the patrons decorate stones--to create games to work on matching colors, upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and more!

Here's an adorable fish rock craft from the Hello, Wonderful website:

And another goodie from The Artful Parent: Making Faces with Rocks!