June 8 BioBlitz at Elmwood Cemetery!
Registration is now live for the June 8 BioBlitz at Elmwood Cemetery!
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.
On June 8 the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership (LRWP) and partners including the Americorps Watershed Ambassadors Program, New Brunswick Environmental Commission, North Brunswick Environmental Commission, and Elmwood Cemetery will host a day long BioBlitz of Elmwood Cemetery in North Brunswick.
Elmwood Cemetery is a special forested habitat refuge nestled between the urban New and North Brunswick communities. The Cemetery was established in 1868 as a “Victorian Garden Cemetery” during the rural cemetery movement, and to this day all of Elmwood’s lanes and paths are lined with evergreens and flowering native trees. Cemetery managers are building on this legacy of careful planning and land protections to secure Arboretum accreditation, which will allow them to further advance the planting, study, and conservation of woody plants and trees in the area.
Our BioBlitz will include public talks by expert naturalists about local natural history, and a chance for the public to work with these experts in an active survey of mammals, fish, plants, insects, aquatic invertebrates, birds and fungi. Our expert scientists will be stationed at various locations at Elmwood Cemetery to help participants engage in unique research. These scientists are our “team leaders.” We use teams to help organize the science and logistics so that we get as accurate a count as possible of the biodiversity of the area.
Our Expert Scientists:
- Brionna Primiani (mammals), Wildlife Specialist with New Jersey Wildlife Services
- Chuck Sedor (fish), New Jersey’s Division of Fish and Wildlife in the Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries
- Michele Bakacs (plants), Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County
- Trisha Nichols (insects), Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion
- Von Scully (aquatic invertebrates) NJ Watershed Ambassadors
- Laurie Gneiding (birds), NJDEP Ornithologist/Ecologist; NJ Audubon Society
- Randy Hemminghaus (fungi), The New Jersey Mycological Association
For more information, and to register, see our BioBlitz events page!