BioBlitz 2024

BioBlitz 2024

Join us for a fun Saturday full of nature-themed activities at the Mequon Nature Preserve as part of MPM's annual BioBlitz!

Date and Time

Saturday, June 22, 2024
10 a.m. - 3 p.m

Location

Mequon Nature Preserve
8200 W County Line Rd
Mequon, WI 53097

Cost

FREE

What is a BioBlitz?

It's a 24-hour celebration of biodiversity where scientists work together to see how many species of plants and animals they can find in one area. Learn more about MPM's BioBlitz.

Activities for All Ages

Families are encouraged to join staff and surveyors for a day of outdoor activities, granting them a close view of all the biodiversity we uncover together. Activities include, but are not limited to:

  • Demonstrations with Mequon Nature Preserve's very conservation dogs, Tilia and Timber
  • Bird walks with the Zoological Society of Milwaukee and BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin
  • Butterfly walks with the Dane County Butterfly Monitoring Program
  • Dragonfly and damselfly walks with the Wisconsin Dragonfly Society
  • Mycology walks with the Mycological Society of Wisconsin
  • Owl pellet dissection, microscope station and plant press activity with MPM educators
  • Nature journaling and scientific illustration with Kathy DeVries Designs
  • Beginner birding station with Paige Wirth of UW-Madison and Charlotte Chorzempa with USGS
  • Invertebrate biodiversity and conservation station with Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

BioBlitz 2024

NATURE WALKS
  • Butterfly Walks - Milwaukee Public Museum – 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
  • Plant Walks - Milwaukee Public Museum - 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m.
  • Birding Walks - Milwaukee County Zoological Society - Times TBD
  • Nature Walk - Havenwoods State Forest – 1:00 p.m.
Little Things Are a Big Deal: Microscopes and Why We Use Them

Come explore the BIG world inside a tiny droplet! We’ll use microscopes to delve deep into the details of aquatic life.

Pressing Matters: Plant Presses and Why We Make Them

Unleash your inner botanist with our hands-on activity! Craft your own plant press and learn how to preserve specimens for future study in your own herbarium. 

Stalking the Wild Neighborhood: Urban Nature and Why We Love It

We tend to imagine wild plants and animals as strictly something found in the forests, mountains, prairies, and ponds of wilderness areas, but the reality is quite a different story. In order to better appreciate our natural neighbors, this station offers a chance to dissect owl pellets.

What is a Scientist? What They Do and How They Do It

We tend to imagine wild plants and animals as strictly something found in the forests, mountains, prairies, and ponds of wilderness areas, but the reality is quite a different story. In order to better appreciate our natural neighbors, this station offers a chance to dissect owl pellets.

EXTERNAL PARTNER STATIONS

We're excited to welcome several partners to help provide activities during BioBlitz:

  • Mequon Nature Preserve
  • Zoological Society of Milwaukee
  • Kathy DeVries Designs
  • Wisconsin Dragonfly Society
  • Xerces Society
  • UW-Madison / Dane County Butterfly Monitoring Program
  • Wisconsin Mycological Society
Onsite Experts
About Mequon Nature Preserve

Mequon Nature Preserve is 510 acres of prairies, wetlands, and hardwood mesic forests, and currently in the process of converting agricultural fields back into these native habitats. Every year, thousands of native trees and shrubs are planted across the property, and thousands of children step off the bus for free nature-based field trips.

If you require an accommodation, please email access@mpm.edu or call 414-278-6943.

BioBlitz 2024

Generous support provided by:

Antonia Foundation

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Margarete & David Harvey