Get Outdoors! here is a really good thing to do with your kids... by gimleteye

National Geographic Society and National Park Service NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACTS: Carol Seitz Linda Friar
(202) 775-6186 (305) 242 7714
cseitz@ngs.org
Linda_Friar@nps.gov

BISCAYNE BIOBLITZ: Taking stock of Miami’s closest national park
Public invited to help with 24-hour race to discover and record species

HOMESTEAD, FL (April 12, 2010) – Grab your gear and join the National Park
Service and the National Geographic Society at the Biscayne BioBlitz. On
April 30 and May 1, teams of scientists, naturalists, community leaders,
students, and the public will join forces to discover and inventory every
living plant and creature in and out of the water at Biscayne National
Park.


This free, two-day, round-the-clock event is part scientific endeavor, part
festival and part outdoor classroom. The BioBlitz’s goals are to record as
many living organisms in the park as possible in 24 hours, to increase
awareness of the diverse species found in Miami’s closest national park and
to better understand how to protect the natural environment in the future.

Sylvia Earle, renowned oceanographer and National Geographic
Explorer-in-Residence, and Kenny Broad, a National Geographic Emerging
Explorer and director of the University of Miami’s Leonard and Jayne Abess
Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, are among the participating
scientists.

The “Celebrate Biodiversity Festival” will follow the species count on May
1, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Highlights of the festival include family
activities, live music, demonstrations, displays, presentations and
opportunities to talk with scientists and see them in action. The
“Endangered World” art exhibition, with Miami artist Xavier Cortada, will
also be featured at the festival.

“Explorers” of all ages are invited. Activities will be ongoing throughout
the two-day event at the main “base camp” located at Biscayne National
Park’s Dante Fascell Visitor Center and at a smaller “base camp” on Elliott
Key. Advance registration is required to reserve a spot on a snorkeling
boat or “ferry” to Elliott Key, where many of the inventories will take
place. No registration is needed to participate in the base camp activities
or for the festival, both of which will be held at Biscayne’s Visitor
Center complex. All parking for the event will be off-site, with shuttle
transportation provided. To learn more about the Biscayne BioBlitz or to
register, log on to www.nationalgeographic.com/bioblitz or call (800)
638-6400 ext. 6186.