The BioBlitz is sponsored by The Dorr Foundation, whose founder John V.N. Dorr, was responsible for the white painted safety lines found alongside of highways. (History note: Development and field testing of those lines to save lives happened on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut.)
Other major financial and in-kind contributors for the include the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn, Center for Conservation & Biodiversity at UConn, Goodwin College, the Friends of Keney Park, the City of Hartford, the Town of East Hartford, the Department of Ecology and Evolution Biology at UConn and the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. Significant partners also include Leadership Greater Hartford, Keney Park Trailblazers, Upper Albany Collaborative, and the VCB Association.
Special guests for the formal kick-off of the anniversary include Richard Conniff, noted naturalist and author; Hartford Councilman Luis Cotto; Mayor Eddie A Perez (invited); Hartford Councilman Robert Pinter; State Senator Eric Coleman; Congressman John Larson (invited); Bayyinah Loyons, president, Friends of Keney Park; Henry Hester, vice president, Friends of Keney Park; State Representative Kenneth Green; Jeremy Teitelbaum, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn.
The event involves school children, college students, and scientists from a number of universities and scientific institutions in a race against time to see how many species they can count in a 24-hour biological survey.
Keney Park is the site of Connecticut’s very first BioBlitz in 1999. Scientists will be collecting and assessing the differences a decade has brought to the environment site.
Public programs begin at the Keney Park Pond House, 323 Edgewood St. in Hartford at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Additional parking is available via Keney Park’s Greenfield Street entrance, located at the Greenfield Street/Woodland Street intersection.
On Saturday, June 13, public programs move to Goodwin College River Campus, One Riverside Drive, East Hartford, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors can join guided tours of BioBlitz observing the scientists in action.
Additionally, nature walks and talks will be offered, and visitors can experience an exciting array of information, resources, and activities presented by more than 30 organizations. Closing ceremony will take place at 3:00 p.m, showcasing the final tally of species counted and additional highlights.
A total number of 1,369 species were counted during the 1999 BioBlitz at Keney Park. In 2001, the world record of 2,519 species identified occurred during the BioBlitz in Danbury.
This year, 26 middle and high school students were selected as junior scientists and will work side-by-side with notable scientists from respected institutions throughout the region. The students will rotate among collecting specimens, making presentations to the public, and counting species throughout Saturday.
For information visit http://web.uconn.edu/mnh/bioblitz/ or call (860) 486-4460.