BioBlitz 2024: Read, Renew, Record! Ends

July 31 is the last day of our BioBlitz! Upload your final observations to iNaturalist and submit a photo to our photo contest!

Help NPL and Ecology Action Center document local biodiversity! Photograph and map wild animals, insects, and plants found throughout McLean County and upload your observations to our BioBlitz Challenge using the iNaturalist app.

1. Download the iNaturalist app from Google Play or the App Store and create an account.

2. Join our BioBlitz project on iNaturalist. Under projects, search for “NPL/EAC BioBlitz 2024: Read, Renew, Record!” and click “Join.”

3. Go outside! Visit a park, look to the sky, bring your phone on a camping trip, or go to your own backyard to make observations of local wildlife. All observations need to be made within McLean County between July 1 and July 31, 2024 to be a part of the BioBlitz project. Need help adding your observations to iNaturalist? Follow this video tutorial.

4. Using photos or videos, the iNaturalist app will help you identify what you find, and the species names can be confirmed by scientists online. Make many observations, and climb the leaderboard for number of species found.

In-person BioBlitz event

Thursday, July 11 5-7pm, Underwood Park Brander Shelter. Join us and other BioBlitzers to make observations together, get assistance with iNaturalist, learn about conservation projects in McLean County, and more!

Photo Contest

From July 11-August 1, submit your favorite photos you took for the BioBlitz to our photo contest!

Rules and submission guidelines:

• Open to all ages.
• Photos will be divided into three categories, based on their primary subject. You can submit up to 3 photos - 1 per category.
  • Vertebrates (e.g. fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammal)
  • Invertebrates (e.g. insects, mollusks, spiders)
  • Plants and fungi
• To be eligible for entry, photos must be of a wild (not cultivated and not captive) living organism. Examples of photo subjects that would be ineligible are humans, domestic animals, and garden plants. These can be present in the photo but cannot be the primary subject of the photo.
• Photos must be your own work (adults can submit on behalf of children, but please include their name with the submission), and must have been taken in McLean County, Illinois between July 1 and July 31, 2024.
• Please send photos via email to ask@normalpl.org. Please include the title of your photo, your first and last name, the category for the photo (vertebrate, invertebrate, or plants/fungi) and your preferred method of contact (a phone number or email address). Optionally, include the species you believe to be the primary subject of your photo. To help determine species, please upload your photo to our project in iNaturalist and use their suggested species, as well as identifications from experts in the iNaturalist community after your photo is uploaded.
• Photos will be uploaded to the Normal Public Library Facebook page for the public to vote on. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in each category.