BioBlitz at the New York Botanical Garden actually turned out to be a lot of fun today! I honestly wasn’t looking forward to it since I thought I would be completely out of my element, but loving nature proved to be enough of a strength for me. I was placed in the Herps/Reptiles group, and we spent the day learning about the different species of turtles that are in the waters of the Bronx River, the only freshwater river in New York City that happens to run right through the center of the park. If anything, I wish we had learned more about other animals (I was sort of eager for the snakes, even though they freak me out), but overall I had a wonderful time and I feel like I found out way more about turtles than I ever would have gathered anywhere else.

I can’t wait to go back to NYBG, actually– I spent a lot of time there wondering why I hadn’t been there before. I’ve been through Central Park too many times at this point and I feel like I want to see more of the nature that this city has to offer. I admire the contrast, that you can look from behind the gates of a forest-like atmosphere and see a busy city street. It’s the best of the both worlds. Before today, I was completely unaware of how violent and aggressive turtles could actually get. They bite things– they’re not just calm little creatures tucked into their shells. I also think it’s cool that there are different kinds of turtles that are both natural to the habitat as well as ones that were brought to the river. If I had the opportunity I would do BioBlitz again in a group that is a little more interactive– the butterfly stuff looked fun, but there would be a bunch of other groups that I would try. For the most part, we watched experts handle the animals because they were too big or dangerous for us to hold. Overall, BioBlitz was a wonderfully new and unexpected experience!