Bioblitz at Abrams Creek

Bioblitz at Abrams Creek

Help DLiA sample pollinators and other insects in an under-sampled region of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This event is free, but spaces are limited. No previous experience needed, although expertise is welcome!

Sorry, registration is now closed for this event, but check out our other bioblitzes coming up soon!

Purpose

We are planning a bioblitz to inventory life in a relatively under-sampled part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We plan to sample for pollinators and other insects using various trapping and collecting techniques. We will also catalog other life we encounter by photographing organisms and posting them to iNaturalist, so they can be identified and viewed publicly.

This event is part of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, an ongoing effort managed by DLiA to catalog every species living in the Smokies. Results for this bioblitz will be reported to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and will help the park better understand and protect the rich natural resources of the Smokies.

What will we be doing?

Saturday

On Saturday, we will spend the day collecting insects using various trapping methods and also hand-collecting insects around the Abrams Creek area in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We will also document other organisms, such as plants, lichens, birds, and mammals using iNaturalist. This will be a full day of sampling and may involve hiking up to several miles along marked trails.

Sunday

On Sunday, we’ll work together at Abram Creek Ranger Station to process the samples that we collected on Saturday. This will include pinning, labeling and roughly sorting insects. It will be a great opportunity to learn how to curate and identify insects and it’ll be fun to see what we caught on Saturday!

Things to know

• Registration is required to participate
• No prior experience is needed and children 10 and older are welcome to participate
• Prior experience is welcome though, particularly experience in collecting and identifying insects or other organisms
• Lunch will be provided to all registered participants on Saturday and Sunday
• We are not able to provide overnight accommodations for participants, however, we strongly encourage you to attend both Saturday and Sunday’s activities
• We will be conducting research under an NPS research permit and all participants MUST adhere to the rules and regulations therein, mainly that collecting specimens must be limited to the scope of this project and done under the supervision of bioblitz leadership
• There is no cell coverage at Abrams Creek, so please plan accordingly
• More information including specifics about meeting time and place will be emailed to participants closer to the event

Before the event

• Download iNaturalist to your phone (it’s free!)
• Follow prompts in the app to create an iNaturalist account
• Practice making a few observations of plants, insects, and other organisms around you using iNaturalist
• Bring water and some snacks (lunch will be provided)
• Wear weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes for hiking

Have questions?

Ask Will: will@dlia.org

Funding

This event is funded by a generous grant from the Tallassee Fund (grant number #65683).