Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz

Have you ever heard of a BioBlitz? It’s an event where we take and upload photos of wildlife and plants to learn about pollinators in our area. What is a pollinator? Bees, butterflies, wasps, flies, sawflies, moths, hummingbirds, beetles, and some bats are all examples of pollinators. Why should you participate in a pollinator BioBlitz? Pollinators are essential to the health of our ecosystem and require specific plants to provide food and shelter for their offspring. A BioBlitz gives us insight into the health of our ecosystem and engages community scientists like you!

The San Marcos Discovery Center is hosting a Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz for San Marcos during the month of September and anyone in our city can participate. You can find plants and pollinators almost anywhere, but most will be where the flowers are. The San Marcos Discovery Center, San Marcos River parks and trails, and the San Marcos Natural Areas are great places to start, but your own yard works too! Reminder - don’t forget to document plants – they are a pollinator’s “bread and butter" after all.

To participate, just follow these simple steps:

1. Sign up on the iNaturalist website.

2. Download the free app on your smart phone or bring a camera to take digital pictures and upload later.

3. Make as many observations as you can of pollinators and plants in the month of September (check out this YouTube video on how to make observations).

4. If your observations are of pollinators and plants in San Marcos, they will automatically upload to the project.

5. Want to see the diversity of pollinators and plants documented during the BioBlitz? Join our INaturalist project by clicking on the project tab in iNaturalist and searching for “Parks for Pollinators: City of San Marcos Parks and Recreation." Then select "Join."

6. Questions? Need help? Email Niki Lake.