LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) – GROW La Crosse partnered with Strive to Thrive Coulee Region to launch the area’s first BioBlitz event. According to National Geographic, a BioBlitz is an event identifying as many species in a region as possible in a short period of time.
GROW La Crosse is featuring the BioBlitz within their Summer-long education program. The program encourages connectivity, with gardens and broader nature among kids.
The event occurred on Thursday from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Kids downloaded an app, iNaturalist, to begin documenting the plants and life forms in the area. The activity made the kids citizen scientists.
“We are searching for bugs and plants in the area and taking pictures of them so that it can be tracked for scientists to see where these plants are and who is finding them and in what areas,” said Brooke Mikla, Public and Community Health Perceptee of GROW La Crosse.
After submitting images, Scientists on the iNaturalist app can choose where to take the data from there.
GROW La Crosse’s Summer Passport Event continues for the rest of Summer, more details here.