BioBlitz - WAI Wānaka

“Counting species through citizen science”, a BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time.

At a BioBlitz, scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to get a snapshot of an area’s biodiversity. These events can happen in most any geography—urban, rural, or suburban—in areas as small as a backyard or as large as a country.

During a BioBlitz, apps such as iNaturalist are used to collect photos and information. This data is then available to anyone. The more we know about the plants and animals that live in different areas the better we can look after them.

*Makarora and Haast students discovering and learning about biodiversity in Makarora*.

Eco Fund

Thanks to funding from Otago Regional Council’s ECO Fund, WAI Wānaka ran a BioBlitz in September 2020 with the students from Makarora and Haast Schools, followed by a community BioBlitz during the WAO Reset Summit in November 2020.

ORC’s ECO Fund also supported Year 10 students from Mount Aspiring College to carry out biodiversity monitoring and fieldwork at the Wānaka lakefront over three days in December 2020.

Get Involved

If you are as curious as we are to find out what lives in and around our lake, please sign up to our newsletter at the bottom of this page and join us for a fun day of exploration and learning next time we hold a public BioBlitz in the area.