To be quite honest I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy Bioblitz, I was actually dreading the day, but to my surprise Bioblitz turned out to be a very interesting and educational experience.

We started off the day by meeting our guide Rafael. From the very beginning Rafael showed great enthusiasm about mosses and very soon our entire group became quite interested in mosses, which I assumed would be a very boring taxa to observe. On the contrary, Rafael showed us how interesting mosses actually were. We saw several different types of mosses and each had a unique look and different habitat in which they grew. What was even more interesting was how different species of mosses could arise just by the slightest change in the environment. Some of the different species were growing in the same zone and only a few feet away from one another.

Unlike other groups who were given nets and binoculars to observe their taxa we were given microscopes to get a better view of the mosses. Rafael explained how many of us overlook and give little importance to mosses because we are just too big to appreciate its beauty. With the microscopes we were able to see how complex looking the mosses were. Under a microscope it looked as if there was an entire forest on the little patches of mosses we were holding.

It was amazing to see how in such an urban city such as New York so many different species of mosses can arise. This experience showed me how we can often overlook the biodiversity New York holds even in its smallest specimens. I really admired Rafael’s passion for what he does, seeing the way Rafael was able to identify each of the different types of mosses and knew where to look for each one, showed the vast amount of knowledge and dedication scientists put into their field of study even for something as seemingly simple as moss.