2023

BioBlitz BG held two events this year, one at Wintergarden Park with students from Bowling Green City Schools and one at the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium with students from Washington Local schools. BioBlitz BG teaches participants how to observe nature and be active citizen scientists to help preserve local natural habitats. During this event, students document many living organisms (both plants and animals) encountered in the Wintergarden Park prairie. The event culminates with a recorded tally of all the organisms that students encountered during the BioBlitz. The student-collected data is uploaded to the iNaturalist platform, a learning application dedicated to citizen science and inquiry-based discoveries in nature that is useful for scientific data collection and conservation.

Students participate in the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation of the Environment) Program by measuring air, surface, and soil temperatures in order to compare the prairie to other surrounding habitats. This data is uploaded to the GLOBE Program database and shared with scientists who use GLOBE data to better monitor our earth. During the 2023 BioBlitz BG, students made Seed Drops to take home, which can be used to spread flowers in bare spots, creating pockets of beauty and habitats for pollinators.

The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium's Project Prairie program has installed school prairies around the region and created a prairie curriculum with professional development for K-8^th grade teachers. The goal of Project Prairie is to teach students the importance of prairie preservation in northwest Ohio through inquiry-based, outdoor learning. BioBlitz BG is part of a larger bioblitz event taking place at the other zoo prairie schools.

In The News

13 abc - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjOGkFX8dtM

Sentinel-Tribune https://www.sent-trib.com/2023/09/20/kenwood-students-visit-prairie-and-become-citizen-scientist