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Virtual BioBlitz @ Johnson Ridge Trail
October 10, 2020 @ 10:00 am – November 10, 2020 @ 11:59 pm EDT
Virtual BioBlitz @ Johnson Ridge Trail
Join DLiA and the Tennessee Valley Authority for a free, family-friendly virtual event where you can be a citizen scientist and learn about the natural wonders found at TVA’s wild lands!
What is it?
It’s a bioblitz on TVA’s trails, but virtual!
What’s a bioblitz? It’s an effort to find and document as many species as we can find in a certain place. It’s also an opportunity for you to be a citizen scientist, gathering real scientific data, while also learning about the animals, plants and other organisms that live around you!
Where is this taking place? This is a virtual event that you can do at your own pace. Watch the video below then visit Johnson Ridge Trail near Bean Station, TN or any of the other 10 qualifying TVA trails in East Tennessee and Northern Alabama to complete a scavenger hunt and receive a fun thank you gift!
Here’s how to participate:
(1) WATCH THE VIDEO
We’ll launch the event via YouTube on Saturday, October 10th at 10 am EDT. Watch our video introduction to Johnson Ridge Trail and see some of the neat flora and fauna that live there.
(2) VISIT ANY QUALIFYING TVA TRAIL
From October 10 to November 10, 2020, we challenge you to visit beautiful Johnson Ridge Trail near Bean Station, TN or any of the other TVA trails listed below. There are 11 TVA trails to choose from: 9 in east Tennessee and 2 in northern Alabama. Which one is closest to you?
(3) COMPLETE THE SCAVENGER HUNT
Look for these plants, animals, and other groups of organisms, snap photos of them with your mobile device and post your observations to the free iNaturalist app.
The scavenger hunt challenge: Make iNaturalist observations of organisms that you find along your TVA trail of choice. The challenge is to observe a variety of organisms: find representatives from at least 10 of these categories:
Printable version of this checklist with instructions: PDF
(4) WE SEND YOU A THANK YOU GIFT!
Fill out this short form when you complete the scavenger hunt and we’ll send you a TVA BioBlitz-themed neck buff as a thank you gift!
About iNaturalist
What is it?
iNaturalist is a really useful, free tool for taking photos of lifeforms (animals, plants, fungi, etc.), identifying them, and making species observations. These observations help us learn about the world’s biodiversity.
Getting started with iNaturalist
- Download the free iNaturalist app to your Apple or Android smartphone. You can also visit iNaturalist.org from your web browser.
- Follow the prompts in the app to create a new iNaturalist account.
- Find a cool bug, plant, or other organism. Open the app and tap OBSERVE or the (+) sign to take a photo of your organism (or choose an existing photo from your camera roll).
- Tap WHAT DID YOU SEE? to identify your organism.
- Make sure your location and date are recorded.
- Tap SUBMIT or the check-mark icon to submit your observation to iNaturalist.
- Repeat! See how many different organisms you can observe around you!
For more tips and tricks for using iNaturalist, check out their getting started page: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/getting+started
What have people spotted at Johnson Ridge Trail, so far?
People like you have observed more than 130 species of plants, insects, spiders, fungi, and other kinds of organisms at Johnson Ridge Trail so far, but there’s plenty more to find! You can help us expand this list by adding your own observations in iNaturalist.
Check out the full Johnson Ridge Trail project page on iNaturalist to see more.
What’s been found at another TVA trail? Visit this iNaturalist umbrella project to find out!
Featured species
[coming soon!]Resources
- Map link to Johnson Ridge Trail parking area
- iNaturalist project at Johnson Ridge Trail
- List of all our BioBlitzes with TVA
- TVA Recreation
- Visit the Smokies? Contribute to our iNaturalist project there
- Learn about our iScience schoolyard biodiversity program (grades 5-8)
Have questions?
Ask Will: will@dlia.org