Congratulations to our winners!

Hi everyone! Thanks for making our first ever AppState BioBlitz such a fun experience and resounding success!

Our challengers at UNC Greensboro have conceded to our win, haha! Thanks for the challenge, UNCG! We're definitely up for a rematch next year. :-)

Thanks also to those who stopped by for our little awards ceremony in the Rankin lobby yesterday. For those who missed it, here are the winners. It really came down to a tight battle between two dedicated students, one from Biology and one from Geography and Planning:

• @leighalobelia took home the prizes for most species observed overall, as well as Master Botanist and Master Mycologist for observing the most plant species and fungal species, respectively.
• @rivermont scored the prizes for best photography, as well as Master Entomologist and Master Ornithologist for observing the most insect species and bird species, respectively.

This adorable chipmunk observed by rivermont was selected to adorn our AppState BioBlitz 2022 buttons. (If you couldn't make it to the celebration yesterday and want a button to pin on your jacket, contact Marta.)

A couple of honorable mentions go to:

• @tsn for providing over 1,500 identifications on our observations during our BioBlitz week. Wow, thank you so much for your help! I would also like to thank everyone else who participated (intentionally or unwittingly) by providing identifications and quality control for our observations.
• Our runner-ups for most species who didn't win a prize but still each made over 100 qualifying observations during the BioBlitz week: @brynnaselah, @dendro-julia, @hannah_lilly, @emma_nicholson, @seanavery1, and @brookesbees. Great engagement from everyone!
• All instructors who announced the challenge in their classes, went on field trips, or provided extra credit or other encouragement for students to participate. Special thanks to our emeritus faculty who decided to emerge from retirement to contribute!
• Also a big shout-out to our participants from Lees-McRae College and Watauga High School! If you ever need help with a BioBlitz challenge, let us know!

We really had a blast with this and definitely want to do it again. If you have feedback what went well and what didn't and how to improve it for the future, please let us know.

Annkatrin and Marta

Posted on November 12, 2022 11:48 PM by annkatrinrose