Tips for Public Bioblitz organizers

[dlevitis]

I’m helping to organize a couple of public bioblitzes for the City Nature Challenge this year. Each will have a handful of experienced iNat users leading groups, and an unknown number of visitors. We have people sign up in advance but the number that arrives can be very different. I’ve done a bit of this before, and it feels like comedy improv as much as participatory science. This thread: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/are-there-strategies-for-dealing-with-bioblitzes/2405 deals mostly with how to handle the flood of observations that come in after the bioblitz, but I’d appreciate insights into the events themselves. For example, I’ve found that it is very helpful to, before advertising the event, set up a project that automatically includes observations from the bioblitz days and area. That way, when people worry about how their observations are going to be included I can tell them it is all taken care of automatically. I’ve found that it works well to have one group that stays and takes observations at the meeting place the whole time, both because that way people with limited mobility can participate, and because that way people who come late or get separated can join that group. Please share what works well, what are pitfalls, what have you learned from experience? Thank you.