Diario del proyecto Great Southern Bioblitz 2021 Whakaraupō

So today is the Bioblitz's last day and it's another beautiful day to get out and about - even if it is just a quick walk.
Thank you to all those who have contributed so far, we're looking forward to seeing the final tally.
But until then it would be great if you could get out there and keep observing!
Ngā mihi

Kia ora folks
If you happen to be out and about in the harbour, don't forget to take some pics/observations to add to our Bioblitz project this weekend! If it is geo-tagged it should automatically show up in our project.

And PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN THE PROJECT on iNaturalist!

Ngā mihi
Kathryn

The Bioblitz utilises the iNaturalist app, so anyone with a mobile phone and the downloaded app can help out with the count. iNaturalist is a valuable tool that will connect all local observations in one geographical area over the Bioblitz period.

Whaka-Ora are running three free ‘How to use iNaturalist’ workshops to help locals for the bioblitz.

• Lyttelton - Tuesday 4 October from 5pm to 6pm at Mt Herbert Community Board Boardroom 25 Canterbury Street, Lyttelton,
• Governors Bay -Tuesday 4 October from 7pm-8pm Governors Bay Community Centre, 1 Cresswell Avenue - Diamond Harbour Monday October 11, 7pm to 8pm Green Room of the Community Hall, 91 Waipapa Avenue, Diamond Harbour.

Just turn up, but please wear a mask. Due to potential Covid-19 restrictions at this time, we may need to limit numbers at each venue.

Tēnā koutou,

Whaka ora Healthy Harbour are all signed up to take part in this Great Southern Bioblitz over the weekend of 22-25 October - now we need punters to help out...will you?

What is a bioblitz you may be asking? Well, in simple terms, it is basically a count of flora and fauna in a set area over a given time period. The great thing about them is that they collect a lot of information over a short period, and can be collected by anyone - citizen science in action! It works well to capture baseline data about an area, and if the process is repeated every year, then that data collection can paint a bigger picture of trends, issues, gaps in knowledge and all sorts of wonderful things. It may even turn up a new species! Imagine getting naming rights on that!

If you are reading this, it is likely that you have already signed up to iNaturalist - the digital tool you need to have to record your bioblitz observations - but if not, please do. Read up on it here:
www.inaturalist.org/pages/getting+started

To join the bioblitz itself, just hit the 'Join this project' button in the top right of the green box on this page: www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2021-whakaraupo-lyttelton-harbour-bioblitz

It is a really simple process to add it to your device, and you can start adding your own observations as soon as you log in. Just note though, that observations for the Great Southern Bioblitz in Whakaraupō will only be added over the weekend of 22-25 October. Even if you are not sure what you have just photographed and added to the app, there are tools and the expertise 'on the line' to make an assessment and ID it for you. Quite honestly, iNaturalist is one of the best apps in the world.

So once you are signed up have a go at learning how to use it. We will be having an iNaturalist learning day at Rāpaki at the beginning of October, so go forth, but stay tuned for that.

Haere, me te aroha
Kathryn and Karen