Join MES for our first annual Bioblitz at Viles Arboretum on Saturday and Sunday, June 27th and 28th.

The event begins at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday with brief presentations and orientation. Collecting will begin shortly after and continue for a full 24 hours! There will also be plenty of opportunities throughout the event during and after the collecting period to help out with pinning, identifying, and cataloguing specimens.

If you’d like to stay overnight for the event, tent camping will be permitted on the Arboretum grounds and there are limited indoor spaces for cots and air mattresses.

A limited number of smaller motor homes and pop-up campers can be accommodated in the parking lot, but do ask beforehand so we can make sure there will be enough space. There are also several local hotels available nearby.

Registration for the event is $10 and meal tickets for two lunches (Saturday and Sunday, $10 each), one catered dinner (Saturday, $20), and one breakfast (Sunday, $20) can be optionally added on. The Arboretum is providing attendees access to their full kitchen if you’d prefer to bring/make/store your own food. Bathrooms (one with a shower!), WiFi, and good cell reception are all available at this event. Registration can be completed online at https://events.humanitix.com/bioblitz-at-viles-arboretum.

If you’d like to volunteer to help set up traps and equipment on Friday the 26th, please let Chase know.

Feel free to reach out to Chase Gagne at chasegagne@msn.com with any questions about the event. We hope to see many of you there!