My experience with Bioblitz was quite enriching and ironic. The day began as a childhood-like field trip, which was quite exciting at first. The sky was clear and sunny and my group leader was an enthusiastic bird expert. She took us to many parts of the botanical gardens and even went to cooler parts of the park which weren’t mandatory. Unfortunately, there weren’t many birds out at the time of our exploration, but we managed to spot a small garden snake and several bunnies. The most intriguing part of the day was when my group got the chance to observe a hawk that was perched on a distant branch. After about two minutes of absolute silence, the hawk swooped down past my group and onto another tree. This unpredictable interaction was by far the most action we got out of any species.

The irony of this whole experience was that we were a group of humans observing species that had to fend for themselves and find food in the wild. Meanwhile, we were searching for a source of food ourselves throughout the day but alas we had no luck! We were NOT provided with any food or water and we were roaming the wild on empty stomachs. The best part of the day in my opinion was when my group leader was nice enough to sacrifice her staff meal to provide for the starving children of Macaulay Honors. (God bless that woman.) Nine students, including myself, shared two sandwiches amongst ourselves in a biblical style to end our torturous journey. If the point of Bioblitz was to grasp a better understanding of nature, then I consider the day to be a success. I certainly have gained a better understanding of the natural world and the struggle to survive in a limited environment.