This year marks the Whistler Naturalists’ 18th-annual BioBlitz event that celebrates biodiversity through education and scientific research. Our focus was on slime moulds this year, which are fascinating organisms that we don’t know much about in B.C.
We were therefore very fortunate to be joined by B.C.’s best experts (Tyson Ehlers, Ryan Durand and Pam Janszen) for our first “Slime-O-Blitz.” They presented to five classes and gave a well-received public talk. They also had a great time finding new slime moulds on Blackcomb Mountain and in the Callaghan Valley.
Most of their finds will be new to the Whistler list; some are even new to B.C., North America, or potentially to science. These and other visiting scientists, some of the best in B.C., also presented to local classes and surveyed for their target species.
This year’s BioBlitz presented to 35 classes at five different schools: Spring Creek, Myrtle Philip, École la Passerelle, Whistler Waldorf and Whistler Secondary—a total of approximately 800 students. Thank you to all the students and teachers for your enthusiasm and interest! We hope these hands-on presentations increase a sense of wonder for students and help build appreciation for the natural world around them, which then fuels an interest in stewardship.
For elementary schools, the topics included pollination, ecology, the web of life, forest friends, energy flow and food chains, wildlife of Whistler and nature art. Students got to learn about insects, see live aquatic invertebrates, go for nature walks, handle examples of decomposers, match pollinators with flowers they pollinate, touch pelts and skulls from B.C. mammals, and get introduced to slime moulds.
Classes at the high school had in-depth presentations and field outings on slime moulds and visits from provincial wildlife health biologists who demonstrated how wildlife necropsies are done.
A huge thank you to the Whistler Community Foundation, which has consistently supported BioBlitz (and we’re both celebrating 25 years this year!) and the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment, our charitable partner. We also received generous support from the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s Community Enrichment Program and BC Nature. Other support came from the Whistler Biodiversity Project, Whistler Blackcomb, Tantalus Lodge, Whistler Museum, Whistler Library, Arts Whistler, Creekside Market, Toad Hall and Avalanche Pizza.
Sincerely, the WNS board: Kristina Swerhun, Bob Brett, Samantha Ray, Ashley Bordignon, Sabrina Hinitz, Mel Tardif, and Chloe Van Loon.
