A CROWD IS GATHERING along a wide dirt road in the wilderness. Cars, trucks and mud-splashed four-wheel-drives park in a long line, one behind another. Families with young children emerge, kitted out in bright jumpers and gumboots, then backpackers and grey-haired couples wearing matching hiking boots appear. The lively throng – reaching a headcount of 170 – has signed up to take part in the Walpole Wilderness BioBlitz, a two-day event held annually in the South West region ofWesternAustralia. People have driven to the tiny south coast hamlet ofWalpole from near and far – a few have even flown interstate to learn about the Walpole Wilderness.
“We’re going to split up into groups of about 10 and survey a whole range of different ecosystems, from the forests down to granite outcrops and peatlands,” says BioBlitz coordinator Dr David Edmonds, a local vet and cattle farmer, as he addresses the crowd. “We’re looking for a whole range of different things – we’ve got expert botanists to talk plants, we’ve got invertebrate specialists for the insects, and frog experts. We’ve got all sorts of people here.”
Later, David tells me he loves watching the animated conversations between experts and citizen scientists: “These are people who just want to participate and get out there and learn more about
