City Of Fort Worth: Fort Worth Hosting Parks For Pollinators BioBlitz

Press release from City of Fort Worth:

August 31, 2021

The Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department is hosting a monthlong BioBlitz event as part of the national Parks for Pollinators campaign, which is aimed at raising awareness of the importance of pollinators and positioning parks as national leaders in advancing pollinator health and native habitat.

Organized by the National Recreation and Park Association and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, the Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz event is held annually.

Pollinators are a vital component of our ecosystem and an essential link to the world’s food supply. According to the White House’s Pollinators Health Task Force, during the last 30 years, the United States has seen a steady decline of pollinators (such as bees, bats and butterflies) at an alarming rate of 30% annually — making it vital to take action on pollinator protection.

In celebration of pollinators, everyone can help Fort Worth’s Park & Recreation Department create a snapshot of the variety of local wildlife. Citizen-scientists can collect data to help increase understanding of the health of local pollinators.

Participants are invited to download and use an app called iNaturalist to take photos of plants, insects and animals in all Fort Worth parks during the BioBlitz this September. These reported observations contribute to a nationwide scientific inventory of pollinator species.

Submit photos of plants, insects and more, and the app and other citizen-scientists will tell you the name of those species.

“We hope to see many residents out in the parks this September documenting and reporting what they observe in support of our local pollinators,” said Michelle Villafranca, park operations and natural resources planner for the Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department.

Sept. 1. Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. Spiders of the Refuge. Discover the incredible diversity of the local spider community. Often misunderstood, these arachnids play a vital role in their ecosystem and are beneficial to our society. Take a closer look at these incredible hunters and the webs they create.

Sept. 5-11. Cross Timbers Master Naturalists. Fall Socially Distant BioBlitz. The Master Naturalists will make observations across the Metroplex and in Fort Worth parks using iNaturalist.

Sept. 7. Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. Wasps: Unconventional Pollinators. Wasps play many roles in their environment; including pollination. Come learn about local species and how their feeding can aid in pollination.

Sept. 11. Botanical Research Institute | Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Family Workshop: Botanical Watercolors. It’s the time of year that monarch butterflies begin making their annual migration. While there is no guarantee we will see a monarch, you are guaranteed to enjoy the beauty of nature while a local artist leads you in creating a monarch- and milkweed-inspired masterpiece.

Sept. 13. Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. Early Birds. Days are getting shorter and food is becoming scarcer for summer birds. Come and get a last glimpse of them before they head south.

Sept. 15. Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. Grasshoppers: Prairie’s Long Jumpers.

Grab a sweep net and capture some grasshoppers. Learn how these six-legged herbivores are adapted to their habitat and their role in the food web.

Sept. 18. Fort Worth Water YardSmart.YardSmart is a free, informative conference designed to provide effective, beneficial ways to use water wisely in the landscape. Registration deadline: Sept. 8.

Sept. 21. Botanical Research Institute | Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Teen Talk Tuesday: Conservation and Citizen Science. Teen Tuesdays provide participants opportunities to engage and learn from environmental STEM leaders. Topics have included biophilic design, herbarium digitization and scanning electron microscopes.

Sept. 22. Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. iNat with a Naturalist.

iNaturalist is an app used to document the diversity and location of flora and fauna. Learn about this app and how to use it in the field.

Sept. 25. Botanical Research Institute | Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Birding Walk with the Fort Worth Audubon Society. Many beautiful birds can be found in the Garden, though it sometimes takes a walk with a guide to find them.

Photo: Using the iNaturalist mobile app allows BioBlitz participants to record and learn about pollinators right in the palm of their hand.

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This press release was produced by City of Fort Worth. The views expressed here are the author’s own.