East Central Illinois Master Naturalists present this webinar to report on our findings to date with the Busey Woods Bioblitz and plan for future bioblitzes, where you can help report on plant and animal diversity

A BioBlitz focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time, such as an afternoon or a weekend. Judy Miller, Environmental Program Manager for the Urbana Park District, will explain how not only scientists but families, students, teachers, and other community members can work together to get a snapshot of an area’s biodiversity, both animals and plants. She will share the planning, implementation, findings, and evaluation of the Urbana Park District's BioBlitz events.

Smartphone technologies and apps such as iNaturalist make collecting photographs and biological information about living things easy even for people without much prior knowledge and our findings can be collected to become part of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, to be used by scientists and policymakers around the world     

Our speaker, Judy Miller has worked for the Urbana Park District since 1983. As Environmental Program Manager, she administers the environmental programs, the Anita Purves Nature Center, Meadowbrook Interpretive Center, Friendship Grove Nature Playscape and the educational use and interpretation of district parks and natural areas. Judy received a Master’s of Science Education from Northern Illinois University while working and teaching at the Lorado Taft Outdoor Education Field Campus.