Wellington city’s first BioBlitz

NEWS RELEASE
16 March 2007

Scientists to converge on Otari for city’s first BioBlitz

Wellingtonians will get a rare opportunity next week to see exactly what Otari-Wilton’s Bush is home to, when scientists converge on the reserve to take part in the city’s first BioBlitz.

The event – which starts at 3pm on Friday 23 March and runs until 3pm on Saturday 24 March – will bring together an eclectic group of mycologists, ornithologists, lichenologists, bacteriologists, herpetologists, ichthyologists, entomologists, and botanists from around the Wellington region.

Described as a scientific race against time, a BioBlitz is an environmentally friendly event involving scientists, students and the public. The event will be officially launched on Friday and a dawn ceremony is planned at 6.20am on Saturday (24 March) at the Troup picnic lawn.

The Council’s Environment Portfolio Leader, Councillor Celia Wade-Brown, who will be assisting during the BioBlitz, says the goal is to count as many species as possible in the 24-hour period of the vast array of species living in the city reserve and forest area.

“Our biodiversity is precious in itself and also makes the city habitable for humans. Plants, insects, birds, fish and fungi form the web of life and humans rely on that web for survival, renewal and recreation.”

“The BioBlitz will be fascinating,” she says. “Otari will be open as usual and while casual visitors won’t actually take part in the searching and counting, they will be able to watch the proceedings and take guided walks to see the scientists and their assistants in action.”

Otari School hall and the Otari information centre will be set up with computers to record and display what has been found and on Saturday between 9am and 3pm, Otari guides and scientists will lead guided walks every hour on the hour.

The event is being organised by the Otari-Wilton’s Bush Trust and the Council to help mark the 100th anniversary of the gazetting of the first 55 hectares of Otari-Wilton’s Bush as a scenic reserve. It has the support of a range of organisations including the Royal Society of New Zealand Environmental Education Department, Victoria University – School of Biological Sciences, Greater Wellington Regional Council, the Department of Conservation, Landcare Research and Massey University.

ENDS

© Scoop Media