The Melbourne Biodiversity Blitz has now passed the half way point and it's been interesting to see the battle for most species is being played out between Yarra Ranges and Frankston this year. Yarra Ranges appears to have a comfortable lead for now but let's not get complacent! Keep your eye on Nillumbik (a new player in this space) as they are currently in third place.
I had the opportunity to blitz a vineyard with creek access along with two fellow iNaturalist users this past weekend - thank you to both of them. Whilst we have a dedicated number of enthusiasts who contribute in the Yarra Ranges area year-round, they are limited in where they can explore. I look forward to finding ways to engage private landholders into contributing to citizen science or allowing others to enter their property to explore and contribute observations to iNaturalist.
You can view the Melbourne Biodiversity Blitz leaderboard here: https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/biodiversity-blitz-2024-melbourne To view species click on the text link next to the 'Leaderboard' text as it defaults to observations.
As an added bonus, the Great Southern BioBlitz falls in September this year so if you make contributions between Friday 20 and Monday 23 (this coming weekend) you'll be adding to both projects! You can view the Greater Melbourne leaderboard here: https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2024-greater-melbourne-umbrella
Happy blitzing!
Climate & Nature Team
Yarra Ranges Council
