As part of Canada 150 celebrations, on June 9 and 10 the South Okanagan was one of 24 communities across Canada to host a community BioBlitz, an event that promotes citizen science and public engagement with the environment. The big day, hosted by the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance and sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Heritage Canada, was a total success, with almost 250 participants that included everyone from young to
old,
species experts and a r
aft of generous
volunteers.
As
participants
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White Lake Snake Walk Photo by E Rose |
explored the
region's unique grassland, riparian and aquatic ecosystems they were encouraged to photograph as many species as possible and upload them to the iNaturalist app. At the end of the day, over 400 species were captured including, among others, birds, butterflies, plants and aquatic insects. Best of all, these species, many of them unique to our special area, are now recorded forever in a global database. What a great present for Canada's 150th!