Annual BioBlitz: Species Count on the Mill Creek

Exploring nature is a great way to pass the time. You don’t need to be an expert to find out what is living in our watershed. Mill Creek Alliance is seeking citizen scientists to catalog the species in the watershed using an app called iNaturalist. Using your smart phone, you can make observations and other “experts” can help identify species. Together, we can create a catalog of the species found in the Mill Creek Watershed, one citizen scientist at a time.

Learn more about the species found in the Mill Creek Watershed

Why a BioBlitz?

Mill Creek Alliance has been working for over 25 years to support the resurgence of diversity in the Mill Creek Watershed and restore the Mill Creek. We have come a long way from the early 90’s when life along the stream was nearly wiped out. The projects and efforts over the years have had a positive impact and there is a resurgence of life in the watershed. But we are scientists and scientists love data and need proof. A BioBlitz is an opportunity for citizen scientists to make observations of species and be a part of the data collection. In 2019, we initiated a Mill Creek species count, and it has become an annual event. iNaturalist provides a straight forward way to gather data collected by many people in a specific location. Our project location is the Mill Creek Watershed! So any time you are out in the Mill Creek Watershed and use the iNaturalist app to observe plants or animals, you will be contributing to the Mill Creek BioBlitz!

How to Participate

COME ON DOWN TO THE CREEK! You don’t need to have experience to participate in this event. While we are unable to gather in groups (during the current COVID19 pandemic) to guide this activity, each of us can work individually as citizen scientists to gather and record data on their observations while on the creek. A will to be still and observe, and a few “tools”, are all that is needed for this event.

• Download the iNaturalist App for iPhone or Android before you go out.

• Visit a spot anywhere in the Mill Creek Watershed in Southwest Ohio.

• Use your camera to record what you see. The easiest way to record your observation is directly in the iNaturalist App on your cell phone which will record the date and location for you.

• Use the iNaturalist database to look up the species, make any necessary notes, and “share” your observation. Other iNaturalist users, called “identifiers”, will confirm your ID. It’s that simple.

• View the stats from our Mill Creek BioBlitz project on iNaturalist and see a snapshot of the variety of life that can be found on the Mill Creek!

For your data to be recorded in the Mill Creek Alliance Bioblitz project, you must adhere to the following criteria:

• Use iNaturalist

• Observe the plant somewhere in the Mill Creek Watershed

If you don’t have a smart phone, you can also simply use a camera to take pictures while out in nature, then upload the images to iNaturalist from a desktop computer later from home. There are a few more steps to add dates and the exact location, but if you don’t have a smart phone, this can also work!

You may also want to use some other more advanced tools for plant identification listed below

While registration is not required, we would
love to know if you are interested and participating.