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While many conservation organizations mark Earth Day with one-time cleanups and awareness events, 91ֱ����Ƶ Assistant Professor Jennifer Brousseau, Ph.D., saw an opportunity to build something more lasting, leveraging UNE’s strengths in marine and environmental sciences to extend that momentum across Earth Month — and sustain that leadership long term.

Her approach resulted in what’s known as a BioBlitz, a time-bound, community science effort in which participants work together to identify and document as many species as possible within a defined area, held for the first time at 91ֱ����Ƶduring Earth Week on Saturday, April 25.

Over a four-hour period, a team of 10 student and employee volunteers recorded 126 species of plants, insects, birds, amphibians, and marine life across UNE’s Biddeford Campus using community science tools including iNaturalist, a smartphone app that allows users to photograph and identify species, and eBird, a global database for bird observations maintained by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. 

The effort produced 88 documented observations and included several notable finds, including a diving beetle species recorded for the first time in York County by environmental science student Madison Wheeler.

Organized by Assistant Professor Jenn Brousseau, Ph.D., with faculty and staff in the School of Marine and Environmental Programs and the School of Biological Sciences, the event was designed to engage students in hands-on environmental research while contributing real-world data to ongoing biodiversity monitoring efforts.

“I’m really impressed with what our group was able to document in just a few hours,” Brousseau said. “We have so much wildlife and biodiversity on campus, but we always can do a better job of regularly surveying and taking stock across biodiversity.”

Participants surveyed areas across UNE’s campus, including its 363-acre forest, adjoining wetlands, and shoreline at the mouth of the Saco River, capturing species ranging from native wildflowers and invasive plants to invertebrates such as running crab spiders, sand shrimp, and amphipods. Bird sightings included osprey, Savannah sparrow, and greater yellowlegs.

Beyond cataloging species, the BioBlitz also supported UNE’s broader environmental monitoring initiatives, which include a growing network of weather stations and coastal research tools designed to better understand changing environmental conditions, spanning from UNE’s teaching forest, main campus, and research station on Ram Island just off the coast.

Brousseau said the event demonstrated the value of accessible, technology-driven fieldwork in building long-term datasets and engaging students in applied science.

Following the success of the spring event, Brousseau said she plans to host future BioBlitzes, potentially on a biannual basis, with expanded opportunities for student and community involvement. 

Given the relatively small team could record in a citizen-science approach so much precise, accurate data on biodiversity was heartening for Brousseau, and all of it made for a worthwhile first effort, she said.

“This was organized as an Earth Month Event, but I'd really like to make this an annual event that could also include the surrounding community in future years,” she said.