Brooklyn Botanic Garden Hosts Bio Blitz
Saturday, June 13

Signature Event is Part of the 2009 World Science Festival

Brooklyn, New York—June 9, 2009—The 2009 World Science Festival posits that New York City might be the epicenter of human diversity, but what about biodiversity in the plant and animal kingdoms? Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) has the answer: a resounding YES! BBG will be one of two sites hosting a mini Bio Blitz on Saturday, June 13 (noon to 5 p.m.) to explore the Garden's 52 acres. Led by BBG research scientists and botanists Dr. Gerry Moore, Paul Harwood and Debora Amos, BBG will team up with John Ascher, entomologist from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the New York Microscopical Society. The Bio Blitz team will guide urban explorers of all ages in a scientific inventory of the flora, fauna and fungi found in the Garden's Living Museum. In honor of E.O. Wilson, pioneer of the Bio Blitz method, this event will inspire Wilson-like wonder and appreciation for the natural diversity found in the “urban jungle.“

While the Garden is known to have over 12,000 kinds of plants, it is also home to many other living organisms including birds, bees, and many forms of microbial life. Participants in the blitz will learn about the extraordinary diversity of plants at BBG and also assist the Bio Blitz scientists in identifying the other kinds of organisms that are found at BBG.

The Blitzes will be part contest (to identify as many species as possible), part educational event, and part scientific endeavor. All programs will be free with the idea of engaging visitors including families and children at the community level.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Bio Blitz science team is led by Dr. Gerry Moore, director of the Department of Science at BBG. He received his PhD in botany from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Moore also coordinates the Garden's New York Metropolitan Flora project that seeks to document all the plants occurring in the New York region. Harwood is the Garden's herbarium manager and Amos is the assistant manager for the herbarium. BBG's historic herbarium includes about 300,000 specimens of preserved plants. The collection is worldwide in scope, but with an emphasis on plants of the greater New York metropolitan region. More information can be found at http://www.bbg.org/sci/herbarium/.

In addition to being professional botanists, both Harwood and Amos are avid birders.

BBG'S BIO BLITZ
Saturday, June 13 | 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

This extraordinary event is free and open to the public but space is limited, so advance on-line registration is required.

Regular BBG admission will be charged for all other Garden events. Check the bbg.org website for details.