Conservation group asks people to photograph nature over August long weekend

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is calling on people across the country to spend their August long weekends documenting nature.

The non-profit is promoting its fourth annual Big Backyard BioBlitz.

People can participate by registering on its website and downloading an app that allows them to upload photos of what they've spotted. 

The initiative helps promote an appreciation of nature, said Andrew Holland, the national media relations director for the Nature Conservancy.

But it also provides useful information to scientists.

"There were 20,000 different introduced or invasive species that were documented," Holland said, by way of example.

"So that's helpful information. … It helps confirm where these things are moving or spreading to." 

People contributed numerous photos from northeastern Ontario during last year's event, Holland said, particularly from provincial parks such as Batchawana Bay, Kettle Lake and Pancake Bay. 

The photos they submitted included images of great blue herons, warblers, hummingbirds, monarch butterflies, toads, grasshoppers and a variety of plants. 

"I got a real kick out of [a submission from] the Elliott Lake area," Holland said. "It seems to me the person who did the sighting didn't have to go very far. My god, she had a black bear presumably out her front door."

Although this year's event is billed as the fourth, Holland said the Nature Conservancy actually launched the BioBlitz in 2020 as an effort to give people something to do while they were stuck at home during the pandemic lockdowns. 

"We were told at that time, 'Go in your back yard. Stay close to home.'  … So we said, 'Well if that's the guidelines people are giving, let's help people learn more about nature close to where they live.'"

BioBlitz participants have recorded over 147,000 observations over the last four events, documenting over 7,700 species, including many that are at-risk or even endangered, according to a news release issued by the conservancy. 

"In the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, people's observations can help inform solutions," it said.