Kirsty Hanson, WestCentralOnline.com

The sixth annual Big Backyard BioBlitz kicks off this week, offering folks a chance to explore nature while assisting scientists and conservationists from their own neighbourhood.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) will host its Big Backyard BioBlitz this year from July 27 to August 3.

Madeline Lines, communications coordinator with external affairs for the NCC, said during last year’s BioBlitz people in the Swift Current area spotted a zebra jumping spider, and another located a doubtful nightspur.

“Take the camera on the app, and it will identify exactly what species it is,” she said. “Then it’s added to a complete cross-Canada database that gives us working in conservation a better picture of what’s happening on the ground, because we really want to know what’s happening with species across Canada, whether that’s animals, insects, or plants.”

 Since the program’s inception, more than 250,000 observations have been submitted of over 9,600 different species.

“Go to backyardbioblitz.ca, and that will give you all the instructions on how to register and give you all sorts of extra tools,” she said. “One of the great things about BioBlitz is it’s such a fun thing for families to do or get kids involved in nature in a really engaging, educational, and fun way.

“There are also extra pamphlets, activities, and worksheet books that you can do with kids.”

In addition to using the app, participants can also submit audio recordings or photos taken on a mobile phone, camera, or tablet.