Latest news with #BioBlitz
Irish Independent
01-06-2025
- Science
- Irish Independent
Wexford families roll up their sleeves for ‘bio blitz' at popular OPW site
With the public's assistance, members of the Office of Public Works took to the grounds to collect as much information as possible on the many different plants and animals in the area, but it was a race against time to find and record the various species over just one day. The Bio Blitz took place from 3 p.m. on Friday, May 23 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, and the staff at the park were delighted to see families, nature lovers, and curious explorers of all ages join the expert scientists and naturalists for the guided walks and hands-on workshops. The activities that took place on Friday included a native tree talk; woodland and grassland plants, and a late night bat walk. On Saturday, there was a Dawn Chorus led by Glynn Anderson; an insect safari; bird bingo; Lilliputian Flora, and bees and pollinators; pond dipping, and a meadow walk with head gardener, Kevin Naughton. Speaking about the event, Gerry O'Neill explained that hosting the Bio Blitz 'was all new' to himself and other staff in the park, which was coordinated by the National Biodiversity Centre in Waterford. However, he added, 'it was great to see the turnout, we had great numbers with over 40 people for some of the activities, and we're looking forward to building on those events as people of all ages enjoyed them.' The botanists made their way into areas of the grounds, such as Slieve Coillte, to collect other sample of data while the events were taking place throughout the 24-hour blitz, in an effort to study as much information from the site as possible, given it may have been trickier for the public to access. 'Everyone was so enthusiastic and it was great to see how well the public reacted to the event. It was certainly worth the effort when everyone came together,' Gerry concluded. The official results from the Bio Blitz are still in progress.
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
What's Up: Jim Hescott, Taste of Asia, BioBlitz, tribute to R.E.M.
SUPPLIED Jim Hiscott is a button-accordion virtuoso. SUPPLIED Jim Hiscott is a button-accordion virtuoso. Are you spending too much time watching Instagram reels? Tonight, focus your attention on the infectious tunes of Newfoundland reels instead. Unlike the videos churned out according to soulless algorithms, reels are — from a traditional musician's perspective — danceable folk tunes derived from centuries of cross-national rhythmic pollination and intergenerational performance tradition. Reels from Newfoundland, Ireland, Ukraine, Mexico, Basque Spain and the Red River Valley converge in the 10th and final concert of DreamPlay Small Concerts' second season, an hour-long program built to suit the interpretations of button-accordion virtuoso Jim Hiscott. A longtime music producer with CBC whose compositions have been performed by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the St. Catharines, Ont.-born Hiscott will be joined at the WAG by Chris Anstey, bassist Gilles Fournier, multi-instrumentalist/percussionist Daniel Roy and Glenn Buhr. Best known as a first violinist for the WSO since 2005, as a St. John's native, Anstey's first language is Newfoundland fiddle, says DreamPlay artistic director Buhr, who will play piano, guitar and tambourine. 'It's a joy playing this music from everywhere,' Buhr says. — Ben Waldman JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS fFILES Taste of Asia moves to Memorial Boulevard this weekend. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS fFILES Taste of Asia moves to Memorial Boulevard this weekend. The third annual Taste of Asia Festival is moving to a new and bigger venue. Previously held at The Forks, the free outdoor event is taking over Memorial Boulevard for two days of food, entertainment and cultural programming. More than 100 vendors and a dozen food trucks will be stationed on the street, which will be closed to traffic. Memorial Park will be dotted with bouncy castles, a performance stage and cultural displays from China, India, Japan, the Philippines and elsewhere. Live performances will be running throughout the festival, culminating in a daily Asian Pop Showdown from 7 to 9 p.m., featuring dancing and singing from local K-Pop enthusiasts. — Eva Wasney MATT GOERZEN / THE BRANDON SUN FILES BioBlitz will record as many plant and animal species as possible Saturday at Assinboine Park. BioBlitz will record as many plant and animal species as possible Saturday at Assinboine Park. What's a BioBlitz, we hear you ask? A BioBlitz is a collective voluntary effort to record as many plant and animal species as possible within a designated location and time. Community volunteers are invited to explore Assiniboine Park at their leisure, documenting their observations on data-sharing portal iNaturalist. The information gathered can be used to inform conservation strategies and decisions related to park planning. While the event is open to volunteers of all ages, a cellphone with data service is required for those who wish to participate. Children under 16 must be supervised by an adult caregiver. Volunteers are not required to stay for the duration of the event; they can come and go anytime between noon and 3 p.m. Dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes. Advance registration is encouraged for planning purposes, but walk-ups are also welcome. To register, visit BioBlitz. Check in at the Cargo Bar patio near the duck pond upon arrival. — AV Kitching IAN MCCAUSLAND PHOTO From left: Jay Turner, Jeff Derksen, Todd Hunter and Wes Gerbrandt of Oddfellows Local IAN MCCAUSLAND PHOTO From left: Jay Turner, Jeff Derksen, Todd Hunter and Wes Gerbrandt of Oddfellows Local Good cover bands often thrive on putting their own spin on the originals, but it's usually DJs who take the most pleasure in exploring the deep cuts, the bootlegs and the B-sides. Oddfellows Local (Jay Turner, Jeff Derksen, Todd Hunter and Wes Gerbrandt) seem to be working in that DJ spirit with their upcoming tribute show to R.E.M., exploring the band's art-rock years of the '80s, leading up to their breakthrough album, Document. Those were the years — think the albums on the IRS label: Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction and Life's Rich Pageant — when the eventual stadium-rock stars experimented with jangle pop and college rock, while vocalist Michael Stipe mumbled and waxed cryptic, producing some of their most interesting and vital work. Oddfellows Local, an obvious allusion to R.E.M.'s track Oddfellows Local 151 from Document, performs two sets at the May 25 Sidestage show. Proceeds go to Manitoba Mutts Dog Rescue. — Conrad Sweatman
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
BU students host wildlife scavenger hunt at Ross Park Zoo
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – BU students were at the Ross Park Zoo today, hoping to inspire young scientists with a wildlife scavenger hunt. Today's event was part of BioBlitz, which is when people document all of the wildlife in a particular area. Zoo-goers were encouraged to download an app called iNaturalist, and throughout their time at the zoo, take photos of any plants, critters, or wild animals, which are then uploaded to a database to be used by researchers around the world. One grad student, Aly Milks says the data is used to study large-scale environmental change from migrations, to bloom times. 'A lot of iNaturalist is used by scientists to find locations of where some species are that might have not been previously identified. Or, if they want to do research, they can see that there's a particular species in an area. Go out and do research on it,' Milks said. Today's event at the zoo was just the precursor to tomorrow's data collection taking place from 10 to 3 p.m. at the university nature preserve, in Lot-M. She says they'll be using iNaturalist at the zoo and the nature preserve through May 11th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
