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Crete Public Library will be hosting several events this spring and summer celebrating Nebraska pollinators.

In cooperation with Doane University, we are planning a BioBlitz, and would like the help of a Nebraska Master Naturalist.

Date: Saturday, June 11, 2022

Location: Doane University campus, Crete, NE

Time: 9 am to 12 noon

Event: BioBlitz

Participants: Families and individuals. (We are uncertain how many people to expect at this time. It could be anywhere from three to 30 or more). The event will be open to the public. It will take place during the month of Summer Reading, so we hope that children and families from that program will attend.

Publicity: The event will be listed on the Nebraska Public Media webpage once their calendar is online (Celebrating Nebraska Pollinators), as well as on the library’s Facebook page.

What is a BioBlitz?

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.

Smartphone technologies and apps such as iNaturalist make collecting photographs and biological information about living things easy as part of a BioBlitz. High quality data uploaded to iNaturalist become part of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, an open source database used by scientists and policy makers around the world.

Event Plan:

We will meet in an area south of the parking lot next to Hansen Leadership Hall (possibly at the Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom). This area is wooded, has a small pond and a few trails. Along the trails to the east is a wide-open, tallgrass area with scattered trees (it is also apparently part of the frisbee golf course). [We have photos of what the area looks like currently, as of 3-31-2022]

Student volunteers from Doane will be on hand to help guide small groups around areas of the campus that are likely to have plants and animals to observe and photograph. Volunteers will also be able to help participants use the iNaturalist app to take pictures on their phones and submit them to the iNaturalist website.

We will have on hand equipment from Outdoor Nebraska’s BioBlitz Trunk (See link below. Items include field guides, binoculars, hand-lenses and sweep nets).

We are requesting the help of a Nebraska Master Naturalist to assist us with the event. The Master Naturalist could help with the following:

• Short presentation (5 to 10 minutes) on urban wildlife (what participants might expect to see), and on the importance of pollinators. (Presentation aimed at grade school and middle school kids and their parents). And if possible, comment on how collecting observations can help scientists and other researchers.
• Guidance/assistance on how to observe wildlife.
• Help with the identification of insects, birds, plants, etc. that participants observe.
• Depending on the number of attendees, help lead the people through the area (with the assistance of Doane student volunteers), pointing out plants, insects, etc. that people might try photographing.

Thank you for considering helping out with our event. If you have any questions, contact Crete Public Library (402-826-3809).

Tad Shubert
Crete Public Library
(402) 826-3809
tad.shubert@crete.ne.gov