I joined this party late, so I’ve been busily catching up the past couple of days, searching out and documenting (through my iPhone) many of the wildflowers and other plants that inhabit the greater Anchorage area, while belatedly participating in the 2022 Alaska Botany Bioblitz.
Organized by the Alaska Native Plant Society, the bioblitz is something of a botanical orgy, intended to compile as many observations of Alaska’s plants as possible between July 1 and July 15—and perhaps add to our collective knowledge of the state’s community of plants (or rather communities, given the wide range of ecosystems that occur within Alaska).
To participate, a person only has to join this iNaturalist project (which can be done through the online link https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/alaska-botany-bioblitz), then head outdoors and, with your smartphone and the (free) iNaturalist app, upload images of flowers and other plants that occur in any part of Alaska. iNaturalist assists in identifying the various species, along with a human contingent of some 120 botanists and naturalists who serve as “identifiers.”
Sound complicated? It’s actually remarkably easy, as this avowedly low-tech person can testify.
As I write these words on the evening of July 11, some 80 people have entered nearly 4,250 observations and documented 701 species of plants that occur in Alaska, both native and introduced by us humans. That we participants have found and visually recorded more than 700 species of plants in only 11 days seems to me a rather impressive and remarkable accomplishment.
When the bioblitz began, I was busily preparing for a trip to California to visit my daughter, Tiaré, and grandkids, Tristan and Alyssa. I didn’t return until July 9, which means I missed more than half of the allotted days.
I began making up for lost time on Sunday, the 10th, while recording 42 observations and 38 species during walkabouts in Ruth Arcand Park, my girlfriend Jan’s yard, and my own Turnagain neighborhood. I then headed to a favorite woodland path, the Turnagain Arm Trail, on Monday, adding another 72 observations and 53 species. Add it up, and in only two days my iNaturalist app and I have compiled 114 observations and 91 species.
That seems pretty darn good, until I compare my stats with the bioblitz leaders. By the time I began writing this column on July 11, naturalist and science teacher Karri Lathrop had entered 649 observations, and 281 species, making her far and away the top observer, though a half-dozen others had compiled more than 100 species. Meanwhile the “identifiers” were led by M. Goff, who had confirmed the identities of 549 plants (no data was given for the number of species).
The bioblitz has clearly tapped into my more competitive side. But for me—and presumably most if not all of the other bioblitz participants—this botanical venture has other, even greater, appeals.
For one thing, it provides an opportunity to contribute to what I’d call a citizen science effort; for another, it’s a chance to give increased attention to the local community of plants with which we humans share the landscape and also to notice which wildflowers are at or near their blooming peak, which have gone from flower to seed or fruit, and which have not yet even blossomed. It’s also an opportunity to “test” my knowledge of local plants. Which ones can I identify without the help of iNaturalist? Which do I recognize but not know their names? And which are entirely new to me? It’s therefore a chance to more closely observe flowers (and other plants) in various stages of their life cycles. And to notice plant associations, both in wilder settings and within my own neighborhood.
With only four full days remaining (as I write this column), I’ve already set some goals for myself; with iNaturalist’s assistance, I’d like to compile at least 200 observations and document 100 or more species. And having spent my first two days in wooded areas and residential neighborhoods (mostly the former), I will be heading up into the Chugach Front Range to add subalpine and tundra species to my personal list.
At some point I’ll more closely study the project’s overall list of species and those that have garnered the most—and least—observations. As of this writing, more than 50 species of plants have been observed only once. Will I be among those to find a species no one else discovers during this 15-day window?
Perhaps to make the bioblitz more attractive, the organizers will award prizes to those participants who garner the most observations and identifications; cover the widest geographic range; submit the greatest number of species; and contribute the “best” photo. Still, I’d bet the great majority of participants have joined the bioblitz because of their passion for wildflowers and other plants; to learn more about Alaska’s surprisingly diverse community of plants; and, as noted earlier, to participate in a communal effort to discover and celebrate the many species of plants with which we humans share the Alaskan landscape, in all its many forms.
Anchorage nature writer Bill Sherwonit is a widely published essayist and the author of more than a dozen books, including “Living with Wildness: An Alaskan Odyssey” and “Animal Stories: Encounters with Alaska’s Wildlife.” Readers wishing to send comments or questions directly to Bill may do so at akgriz@hotmail.com.
