Bioblitz @ River Bluff Trail

Free, family friendly opportunity to learn about local animals and plants while contributing to science. Join Discover Life in America and the Tennessee Valley Authority at the River Bluff Trail below the Norris Dam in Rocky Top, Tennessee.

WEATHER UPDATE: Unfortunately, the weather outlook for Friday is not looking great so we are cancelling the Friday night session and extending the Saturday May 7th session from 8 AM – 2 PM (we previously planned to end at noon). Registrants are welcome to join us on Saturday no matter which day you originally signed up for; no need to change your registration. We will provide water, but please bring your own snacks or lunch if you think you’ll get hungry before 2 PM.

What’s a bioblitz?

During a bioblitz, volunteers help document as many kinds of animals, plants and other organisms as we can find in a certain place. It’s also an opportunity for you to be a community scientist, gathering real scientific data, while also learning about the local flora and fauna living around you.

What will we be doing?

Walking part of the River Bluff Trail, looking for bugs, flowers, salamanders, and anything else we can find. We’ll photograph them with our phones and post pictures to our iNaturalist project. It’ll be a fun morning of outdoor time in a gorgeous natural space and we’ll have experts on hand to guide small groups around the trail and point out interesting facts about the organisms we see.

Afterward you can see what kind of organisms we found by visiting the River Bluff Trail project on iNaturalist, which will be left up indefinitely. We encourage you to revisit the River Bluff Trail and post what you find! Making iNaturalist observations helps TVA know what’s out there so they can better manage and protect these public lands.

Before the event

• Download iNaturalist to your phone (it’s free!)
• Follow prompts in the app to create an iNaturalist account
• Bring water and some snacks (we’ll also provide water)
• Wear weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes for hiking

Two chances to ‘blitz!

Join us Friday (May 6) night 5:30-9:30 pm to see what evening critters we can find, or join us Saturday (May 7) morning 8 am-noon, or come for both! We’ll meet at the same location for both. See update below.

WEATHER UPDATE: Unfortunately, the weather outlook for Friday is not looking great so we are cancelling the Friday night session and extending the Saturday May 7th session from 8 AM – 2 PM (we previously planned to end at noon). Registrants are welcome to join us on Saturday no matter which day you originally signed up for; no need to change your registration. We will provide water, but please bring your own snacks or lunch if you think you’ll get hungry before 2 PM.

Where to meet?

Meet at the River Bluff Trail parking lot.

The River Bluff Trail is a 3.2-mile loop that traverses TVA’s River Bluff Small Wild Area, located just below the Norris Dam in Rocky Top, TN. We’ll take our time looking for fun flora and fauna and may not cover that full distance.

Helpful links

• River Bluff Trail iNaturalist project
• River Bluff Trail map and information
• List of all our bioblitzes with TVA
• TVA Recreation
• Visit the Smokies? Contribute to our Smokies Most Wanted project
• Learn about our iScience schoolyard biodiversity program (grades 5-8)

Have questions?

Ask Will: will@dlia.org