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Lick Creek Park, College Station, TX
BioBlitz is an event centered around the biodiversity of the Brazos Valley. BioBlitz was initiated to study and celebrate the biodiversity of the Bryan College Station area, and specifically, Lick Creek Park. Secondary goals of the program include educating and exposing youth to the biodiversity of our area, conservation, and methods of wildlife study. The event consists of two primary segments: the investigation portion of BioBlitz and the public event and activities portion. The investigation portion lasts 24 hours. Teams of researchers consisting of post-grad, graduate, and undergraduate students at TAMU use various methods to study the animal and plant life of the 547acre natural park. Methods used include both invasive and non-invasive monitoring techniques such as tracking, trapping, remote cameras and live observation. Teams inventory the following species: Large bodied mammals, small bodied mammals, herps (reptiles and amphibians), insects, and vegetation. The public event portion includs nature investigation hikes, activity centers, displays of allied organizations and businesses, and wildlife exhibits.
Some unique and innovative features include the type of material and information that the participants are exposed to during the public event portion of the program. Due to many factors, our area is very rich in plant and animal diversity. Brazos Valley youth are exposed to the rich and diverse ecosystems through hands-on experiences at the park. Investigation team members lead topic specific hikes where the youth actually participate in the search and identification of species, learn about remote monitoring devices, learn about baiting, learn a safe way to hunt for snakes, identification of wildflowers and plant habitat, and, how to attract and inventory insects. Other unique aspects include the quantity of real samples and examples that the participants can touch and hold, including the butterfly tent, fish touch-tank, wildlife collections exhibit, worm colony, snake collection, water sampling and more.
BioBlitz takes place in the early spring each year and is a partnership between College Station Parks and Recreation and Texas A&M University. For more information please contact 979.764-3486.