Discover Life in America

Cherokee Dam BioBlitz
2024-06-28 18:00 - 2024-06-29 12:00 (America/New_York)
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 Cherokee Dam Park-Picnic Area in Jefferson City!

Two chances to ‘blitz!

Friday, June 28th from 6pm to 10pm: Join us for an evening of discoveries…we will continue in the dark, as we will set up a black light to monitor insect populations!

Saturday, June 29th from 8am to 12pm: The morning is a great time to look for birds and we will continue to look for other flora and fauna throughout the morning!

Register Here

Where?

Cherokee Dam Park-Picnic area

1015 Tva Pkwy, Jefferson City, TN 37760

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 specific area. 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. We will be walking the trails, looking for bugs, flowers, salamanders, and other living organisms. We’ll photograph them with our phones and post pictures to our iNaturalist project. We’ll have experts on hand to guide small groups point out interesting facts about the organisms we see, and teach you how to use the iNaturalist app.

What will we be doing?

Walking the trails, 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 project on iNaturalist, which will be left up indefinitely. We encourage you to revisit the Loyston Point trails 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

Get the iNaturalist app.

Download the app. Log in. Try it out.

ANDROID

iOS

Free

Little Cedar Mountain BioBlitz
2025-05-16 19:00 - 22:00
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 Little Cedar Mountain in Jasper, TN.

Two chances to ‘blitz!

Friday, May 16, 7pm to 10pm Central: Join us for an evening of discoveries…we will continue in the dark, as we will set up a black light to monitor insect populations!

Saturday, May 17, 8am to 11am Central: The morning is a great time to look for birds and we will continue to look for other flora and fauna throughout the morning!

REGISTER HERE

Where?

TVA’s Little Cedar Mountain Trail in Jasper, TN

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 specific area. 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. We will be walking the trails, looking for bugs, flowers, salamanders, and other living organisms. We’ll photograph them with our phones and post pictures to our iNaturalist project. We’ll have experts on hand to guide small groups point out interesting facts about the organisms we see, and teach you how to use the iNaturalist app.

What will we be doing?

Walking the trails, 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 project on iNaturalist, which will be left up indefinitely. We encourage you to revisit the Loyston Point trails 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

Get the iNaturalist app.

Download the app. Log in. Try it out.

ANDROID

iOS

Black Lighting for "Bugs"
2025-07-18 20:00 - 23:00
Black Lighting for “Bugs”…and other nocturnal insects!

When? July 18 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Where? Bradley Fork Trailhead at Smokemont Campground

Description: Join us to help document nocturnal life in Great Smoky Mountains National Park! We will also spend time at dusk using a bat detector to monitor for bat activity in the area! We will also spend time at dusk using a bat detector to monitor for bat activity in the area!

Why use black lights?

Many insects can see ultraviolet light, which has shorter wavelengths than light visible to the human eye. For this reason, a black light will attract different insects than a regular incandescent light.

We will be using the iNaturalist app, to take photos and share to the community science platform. No prior experience necessary!

Location:

Volunteer with DLiA

Volunteers have contributed significantly to the success of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) since we began, through field work, education and outreach, and financial support. DLiA could not continue to function without the help of our dedicated volunteers and supporters. Thank you!
