The Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness will be running a BioBlitz in the Wallagoot catchment region near Merimbula NSW on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th of December 2015, with a basecamp situated at the Bournda Environmental Education Centre.
BioBlitzes bring scientists, naturalists, and public volunteers (Citizen Scientists) together to explore and record biodiversity information and learn about local ecological communities. This two day event will have a schools program on Friday and surveys will be happening from before dawn to after dark. Bioblitzes are a great way to be part of large-scale environmental studies within an enjoyable community atmosphere, all while gathering important regional data that can be used for research and giving an opportunity to learn about our natural environment alongside the experts.
The Wallagoot catchment is predominately forest or woodland with cleared land for agriculture, the Wallagoot Lake itself is an ICOLL with seagrass beds and small areas of saltmarsh. There are large areas protected in the Bournda National Park and Bournda Nature Reserve as well as Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council land and property in private ownership.
Several endangered ecological communities and a number of threatened flora and fauna species as well as a number of invasive species can be found in the area. The Kalaru/Wallagoot area is rich in fauna values, especially for the Yellow-bellied Glider, Glossy Black Cockatoo, and threatened shore and water birds. The area is a wildlife corridor allowing species to move between more and less disturbed areas.
If you would like to know how you can get involved with the Wallagoot catchment BioBlitz, please visit the website or event invite.
Data and records collected from this BioBlitz will be uploaded to the Atlas of Living Australia website and openly accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime.