Arriving at Alley Pond park I did not know what to expect. I had heard things about previous BioBlitz’, but was still very foggy on what was to come of it. I was assigned to the aquatic team and within the team i was broken off into a smaller group of three in which we went to different ponds scooping out bugs with nets. Our first couple of tries were unsuccessful, but we quickly learned to spot the tiny bugs crawling under wet leaves. Each time we found a bug we would suck them into a glass vial. At the end of our thirty minute collection period the vial was filled with different species ranging from firefly eggs to flies. We then dumped the contents of the vial into another vial that was filled with alcohol which was used to preserve the bugs for a while until they were stored for further studying. After collecting at the first pond we walked to the other side of the park to collect bugs from there. This time we were unsuccessful, the pond water was very thick and shallow were we were trying to collect. With the muddiness and the excessive amounts of algae we were not able to collect any samples, but the attempt of dragging nets into thick algae was interesting.
Although the BioBlitz was not something i would do on my own; the experience was like no other. It was not only a fun learning experience, but the overall atmosphere of my group was enjoyable. We had three group leaders who continuously got lost trying to get from one pond to the next which made for cheerful banter. Once we ended the trip i was left with an experience ill never forget, knowledge and the satisfaction that i was helping the community learn more about biodiversity and its affects on the ponds at alley pond park. I would definitely encourage everyone to explore this park.
