UCD Bioblitz 2016 – Raising biodiversity awareness
On the 29th and 30th of September 2016 UCD will compete for the first time in the Intervarsity BioBlitz which is jointly run by the An Taisce Green-Campus Programme and the National Biodiversity Data Centre.
A Bioblitz is a period of biological surveying over a specific time-frame in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. This may be birds, mammals, trees, grasses, mosses, fungi or any living organism! The Intervarsity Bioblitz is run over a 24hr period in participating third level institutions in Ireland. Each campus will compete against the other, with the institution with the most species properly identified and logged deemed the winner!
Teams investigating different areas or species will be led by experts from UCD. The Bioblitz gives students and staff an opportunity to explore the campus and learn from experts in various fields about the natural resources we have on campus in a fun and hands-on way. It will also serve to help us document the various species in UCD and raise awareness of the unique environment we have to enjoy.
The event will run from 17.00 on Thursday the 29th to 17.00 on Friday the 30th of September. Guided biodiversity tours will take place on Friday. If you are interested in participating please come along to “Base Camp” in the lobby of the Science East building or drop an email to bioblitz@ucd.ie for more information.
Guided Biodiversity Walks
A number of guided biodiversity walks will be running Friday 30th September, departing from outside the main entrance of the O’Brien Centre for Science (Science East). These walks will explore the woodland-walk paths that run through the Belfield Campus as well as the upper lake. Your guides will highlight some of the interesting features from the UCD natural environment such as trees and plants and also areas where birds and animals are most commonly seen. Participants please remember to report any unusual sightings to Base Camp!
UCD named winners of the 2016 Intervarsity Bioblitz
Three Universities took part in the 2016 Bioblitz, UCD, UCC and NUI Maynooth.
UCD came out on top with a very impressive 523 species identified over the period, ahead of Maynooth who came second with 385, and UCC with 233.
This highlights both the hard work, knowledge and commitment of the UCD team, as well as the wonderful natural resources that are to be enjoyed on the Belfield Campus.
Highlights from the day include the sighting of over 40 different bird species, a newt near the “secret” lake as well as two different fish species.
The Green Campus Committee are involved in a number of projects in different areas, including waste, biodiversity and energy. For more information or to become involved, please contact: greencampus@ucd.ie