About 50 students, faculty, and family members came out for various activities at the 2015 Radford University Bioblitz at the Selu Conservancy. This bioblitz was a two day surveying effort to sample as many taxa as possible in a short time. This year, surveys were completed during a daytime and a night hike for small mammals, amphibians and reptiles, and birds.

The group welcomed a guest speaker on Friday night: Dr. Wally Smith from UVA-Wise gave an excellent talk on amphibian citizen science projects in Wise County. He encouraged students to get outside and get involved in many simple, achievable ways.

The Radford University Bio Blitz was hosted this year by Dr. Karen Powers, Associate Professor of Biology, Dr. Matt Close Assistant Professor of Biology, and the RU student chapter of The Wildlife Society.  Several graduate students from Virginia Tech also participated by producing hands-on wildlife demonstrations on wildlife camera trapping and using radiotelemetry to track wildlife.

The weather was perfect for this annual event, and organizers were happy that so many students could participate in this hands-on experience.

Photos courtesy of Courtney Odenthal

Pictures from the event are available at this location.