Jamie Ladonski – Public Education and Outreach Programs

 

 

BioBlitz!

 

My background and experience are a mixture of aquatic ecology, ichthyology (the study of fishes), and natural history collections. I am also very interested in the "BioBlitz" concept. A BioBlitz combines environmental education programs and a biological survey into a single event. The objective is for scientists to count all the species of plants and animals they can find in a given area in a fixed amount of time (often 24 hours).  A BioBlitz gives the public a unique opportunity to learn more about local biodiversity.

Photo: St. Patrick's County Park, South Bend, IN

Credit: Tom Arendt

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Learn more about the "hows" and "whys" of BioBlitzes from sites like these:

• University of Connecticut's BioBlitz page
• The first "official" BioBlitz at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC (1996)
• BioBlitz Wikipedia page
• Botanical Club of Wisconsin's "Botany Blitzes"
• Global Amphibian BioBlitz and Global Reptile BioBlitz (article from UC Berkeley)

I have been involved with BioBlitzes at several locations over the last few years, including:

 

2010, Outdoor Campus (Sioux Falls, SD)

2009, Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum and Perry Nature Area (Sioux Falls, SD)

2009, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (Lake/Porter/LaPorte Counties, IN)

2008, Oak Lake Field Station (White, SD)

2006, St. Joseph County Parks (South Bend, IN)

2004, Camp Lawrence (Valparaiso, IN)

2002, Calumet (Cook County, IL; Lake County, IN)

2002, Owasippe Scout Reservation (Muskegon, MI)

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Contact information:

 

Jamie Ladonski

Department of Biology and Microbiology

South Dakota State University

4801 N Career Avenue

Sioux Falls, SD 57107

 

email: [email protected]

phone: 605-274-9558

fax: 605-782-3217