NVCT NEARBY NATURE BIOBLITZ 2020's Journal

Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT) just completed our First Inaugural Nearby Nature BioBlitz! The exciting and enlightening month-long campaign turned everyday citizens into scientists as they explored and photo-documented nature within their own Northern Virginia and DC metro area communities. 

Campaign participants uploaded their fantastic photos to iNaturalist.org, sharing their breathtaking observations of river otters, margined calligraphers, crowded parchment, and more. 

NVCT is proud of our community's participation as each observation provides a deeper understanding and closer connection between us and the natural world. With over 20,000 observations, over 2,600 species, and nearly 100 observers, NVCT's Nearby Nature BioBlitz is a huge success!

Izabella Farr finished first, having the most observations (3,444) and most species observed (898). Capital Naturalist came in a close second with 2,685 observations that comprised 845 species. In third came WildphotosDMV with 2,685 observations including 692 species.

The grand prize for Most Research Grade Observations went to Izabella Farr with 1,620 observations with 537 species over the course of the month. Stephen John Davies was the grand prize winner for Most Threatened Species Observations with 51 observations and 13 species observed. And the winner of our Observer Raffle is Penny Firth with 139 observations with 104 species observed.

Thank you to all of our citizen scientists for helping to make NVCT’s First Inaugural Nearby Nature BioBlitz a huge success! 

We hope you've enjoyed learning about the incredibly diverse wildlife we are fortunate to have in Northern Virginia. NVCT works to protect the delicate ecosystems that make our communities so special. To help, please donate today.

The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT) is a regional nonprofit land trust that forever conserves, manages, and advocates for land with natural, historical, and cultural value to our Northern Virginia communities. NVCT works with conservation partners, local governments, and private landowners to preserve, restore, and steward land in Northern Virginia. NVCT's service area includes 2.9 million residents in a fast-growing region that needs more outdoor recreation spaces. Since its founding in 1994, NVCT has protected more than 8,000 acres in urban and rural areas.

Recently, some questions about submission date vs. observed date were brought to our attention. We want to make sure our guidelines for prize eligibility are clear.

We will have deadline of 11/14/20 as our observed date. We will wait the week for observations to be uploaded but the dates of observation must be between 10/14/20-11/14/20 to be eligible to win prizes.

Please let us know if you have additional questions or comments!

Liz @ nvct

It's VA Bat Week and #nvctbioblitz is looking for bat observations!

Knowing this might be tough, we are open to other spooky creatures like spiders, moths, & critters that go bump in the night. Staff will judge & winner will be announced 11/2!

Check out these bat resources to learn more about bats and to support local bat populations:
https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/bats/
https://batweek.org/
https://www.batcon.org/

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Hello all!
We are so excited that you all are helping us gain a better understanding of the world around us with the NVCT Nearby Nature BioBlitz! As we said, as you participate, you are also eligible for a chance to win a NVCT Goodie Bag. Below are the prize categories...

10/17-10/24:
User with the most Insect (Class Insecta) Observations
Users that post an Observation to a social media platform using the hashtag #nvctbioblitz

10/25-10/31:
User with the most Plant (Kingdom Plantae) Observations
Users that post an Observation to a social media platform using the hashtag #nvctbioblitz

11/1-11/7:
User with the most Bird (Class Aves) Observations
Users that post an Observation to a social media platform using the hashtag #nvctbioblitz

11/8-11/14:
User with the most Mammals (Class Mammalia) Observations
Users that post an Observation to a social media platform using the hashtag #nvctbioblitz

Grand Prizes (given after November 14):
Most Research Grade Observations TOTAL
Most Threatened Observations TOTAL
Each Observer will be entered into a raffle for a Goodie Bag as well!

Follow us on social media and stay tuned for additional prize announcements along the way!
Facebook: @nvct.org
Twitter: @nvct
Instagram: @nvct_va
Northern Virginia Conservation Trust Website: www.nvct.org

Northern Virginia Conservation Trust invites you to participate in our 1st ever BioBlitz! Become a citizen scientist by exploring nature and helping gather valuable data in your very own neighborhood.

A BioBlitz is an organized communal effort to record as many species as possible within a designated location and time period.

Starting on October 14th, members can submit their observations to this project for a chance to win prizes! This will be a month long effort and each week we will highlight different aspects of nature: insects, plants, birds, and mammals. We encourage you to submit observations even if they are not considered a part of the highlighted week (Ex. It's Plant Week but you took a picture of a butterfly, you can/should still post it).

Everyone can participate--You, your family, your friends…anyone who loves nature!

A BioBlitz helps people connect with the nature around them and every observation, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed, can contribute to our understanding of the world around us. All you have to do is observe and have fun.