Help with this year's Biothon

2006 Biothon: 23rd/24th September
(Saturday 12:00 to Sunday 12:00 for the inventory and Sunday 12:00 to 16:00 for the public and entertainment.) Would like help from students and faculty!

The goals:
- Raising money for environmental education: By collecting pledges in support of the Biothon, our participants are contributing to the Grand River Foundation's Living Classroom Campaign (see http://www.grandriver.ca/Foundation/GRCF_currentprojects.cfm under Nature Centres)
- Natural heritage inventory: Participants go out to designated areas in one of our Conservation Areas (this year is Guelph Lake) and try to find as many species as possible working as part of one of three teams (High Life for vertebrates, Fun Guys for plants and fungi or Spineless Wonders for invertebrates.) You don't have to be an expert, just an enthusiast. There are plenty of experts on hand, so it is a chance to learn and improve field skills. An extra pair of eyes is always welcome, survey teams are assembled to accommodate the varying skill levels of our volunteers. Some of the participants camp out overnight, especially those who have travelled or want to participate in the nocturnal hunts (we have some great owl mimics!) Celebration: ... of our watershed's biological diversity. This bit is the public session where we have entertainment, refreshments on hand and kick back and relax. It's an opportunity to talk about interesting finds, to tally the results, evangelize about the GRCA and socialize.

Contact Phil if you'd like to help our or would like more info!

Phil Lenoir
Senior Business Analyst/Programmer Grand River Conservation Authority 400 Clyde Road, Cambridge Ontario. N1R 5W6 (519) 621-2763 x284 mailto:plenoir@grandriver.ca http://www.grandriver.ca/