The Great Southern Bioblitz (GSB) will take place from 24-27 November. This is an ideal opportunity to get involved in a worldwide citizen-science event throughout the Southern Hemisphere by recording sightings of plant and animal life in your area.
Participation is easy by using the free iNaturalist app and website where observations of biodiversity across the globe by citizen scientists, naturalists and biologists are mapped and shared.
Scientists, naturalists and the community work together during this 96-hour period to observe and record as many species as possible in a specific location. There is even a fun GSB league of table of observations by category.
During the 2022 GSB several South African locations, namely Overstrand, Cape Town, Garden Route, Overberg, eThekwini and Tshwane were in the top 10 global positions for the number of observations submitted.
Participation in this event has many advantages, as the results can be used by local environmental groups, government departments, students and various other organisations to increase awareness about biodiversity, protection of local habitat, species distribution, increase scientific literacy and contribute to climate-change research.
During the first GSB more than 3 000 people from across the Southern Hemisphere participated. They came from 157 local areas, across 12 countries on three continents. The fourth GSB taking place in November promises to be bigger and better, with the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar having been added to the list of participating countries.
The GSB actively encourages community involvement in this project. Simply download the iNaturalist app, with a group of like-minded people, choose a location, take a walk and take photos of your local plants and wildlife, and upload them to the app. Visit www.greatsouthernbioblitz.org.
