Lichens BioBlitz around the Baltic Sea during the air quality month 8.02-07.03.2021

The lichen BioBlitz is part of the Baltic Sea Project’s air quality month and is designed to give participants some background information lichen as bioindicators for air quality.

Please, before starting, watch this video that we made in 2020 on how to use iNaturalist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sgVrkTHKwE

Rules of the BioBlitz:

1) Make an account to iNaturalist, so you can tell us your username - only then we can add you to the collection project. Please keep in mind that no one under 13 years of age can have their own iNaturalist account without our obtaining their parent or guardian's permission via this method: https://www.inaturalist.org/user_parents/new 

(You can log into iNaturalist even with your Facebook or Gmail.)

2) All BioBlitz participants should register to our event: https://forms.gle/sihis9WqoDX219ta8

It is because only when you share your iNaturalist username with us, we can add you to our species collection project in there!

3) Choose a date between 8.02-07.03, and choose a location (school park, nearby forest) when and where will you do the BioBlitz. (You can choose multible dates and locations to do the observations if you wish!)

4) Go outside for minimum of 1 hour with your smartphone or camera. Take clear pictures of all the different species of lichen that you can find during that 1 hour. To help you to connect lichen species with air quality, please use this 12-species indentification sheet. (You can do observations longer than 1 hour and choose multible dates and locations if you wish!)

5) Upload pictures to your iNaturalist account and we'll find them (using the username you sent to us) and add them to our project.

6) Take a look at the results of the lichens BioBlitz from here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/lichens-bioblitz-around-the-baltic-sea

7) Wait for a certificate of participation that will be sent to your e-mail address from the registration form.

* 8) You can then also join other BSP's air quality month activities such as the international lichen-related art campaign "Green life among lichen" on 8th of February until 7th of March or you can plan your own air quality related activity and report it to us.

Download the air quality month poster for online sharing (with links) from here! 

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More info about the bioblitz or webinar ask from Gedy Matisen, Tartu Nature House, Estonia, gedy.matisen@tartuloodusmaja.ee

Best greetings from the Baltic Sea Project’s citizen science team: Gedy Matisen, Nicolai Krichevsky, Gretė Vaičaitytė, Jussi Tomberg, Alla Kushka, Martin Jarrath, Gunta Kalvāne