Spotlight

BioBlitz! Observing nature—and humans—at Mequon Nature Preserve!        

An air horn blast announces the start of the action promptly at 3:00 pm on Friday, June 21. The race is on! Scientists, master naturalists, museum and nature preserve staffers, biology educators, interns and other eager volunteers from many walks of life head out from the Education Center and spread out across over 500 acres of the Mequon Nature Preserve. Their mission: Count as many species of plants, animals, insects, fungi and anything else they can find in 24 hours.

My mission is to capture as much of the action as I can with my camera. It seems a daunting task considering there is no map showing where everyone is going and I am unlikely to find them by wandering randomly. I begin by tagging along with a team led by Mark Evans, a veteran naturalist and insect collector. A convoy of two ATVs and a golf cart takes us deep into a section of the preserve I’ve never seen before, near the mysteriously named Dohman Hidden Wetland.