Chippokes Plantation State Park
Virginia Bioblitz 2016
On Site Contact: Matt Knight (matthew.knight@dcr.virginia.gov)
Chippokes Plantation Park staff and volunteers will focus on surveying the terrestrial habitats of Chippokes–plants, animals, fungi, you name it. The topics that we will cover for public participants will include the importance of conservation, scientific inquiry, and adaptations.The park will be broken up into 3 different areas in which 3 different groups will conduct surveys in their respective areas.
Group/Area 1 will feature the publicly offered Bioblitz program: Park interpretive staff will host “Earth Week-Chippokes Bioblitz” on Saturday April 23, 2016, from 9:00a.m.-2:00p.m., and will meet for the program in front of the park’s Visitor Center. Participants who attend have been encouraged to bring lunch, as well as any field guides, magnifying glasses, equipment, etc. they think will be useful. This will be offered as a public program-anyone can attend. We will be conducting the bio-survey during the program as follows: we will start by surveying around the Visitor Center, then the habitats along and around College Run Trail (forests, meadows, beaches, fields, etc.), and end in front of the River House.
Group/Area 2 will be led and attended by Chippokes volunteers and members of local Master Naturalist Chapters*: They will start at 9:30a.m. and end at 2:00p.m. This group will meet at and then survey the Jones-Stewart Mansion parking lot, then survey all of the Jones-Stewart Mansion Grounds, the habitats along the James River Trail, the forest at the end of the trail, and finally the beach past the end of the trail.
Group/Area 3 will be led and attended by volunteers and members of local Master Naturalist Chapters*: They will start at 9:30a.m. and end at 2:00p.m. The group will meet at and then survey around the River House parking lot, then walk the entire length of the Forestry Trail and survey the surrounding forest, then the open field area around the sawmill at the end of the trail, and will finally survey along Cedar Lane (Chippokes Farm Road).
*Groups/Areas 2 and 3 may be used as an overflow for the publicly-offered program (Group/Area 1) if the amount of people who show up at the public program warrants an overflow. I would rather give public participants an enjoyable and more personal experience by giving them the option to attend the less-crowded Groups/Areas 2 and 3 than to make them attend a crowded Group/Area 1. I will have a point of contact for Groups/Areas 2 and 3, and if an overflow is warranted, I will first call the point of contact for each group/area and ask them if participants can tag along. If they agree, then I will let participants know where the other two groups are, when they will start, and give them the option to join the groups.
Cub scout Pack 504 from Virginia Beach earned badges to help them advance to Boy Scout rank.
More information can be found by visiting the Virginia Geographic Alliance’s registration site (http://tinyurl.com/VGABioBlitz2016) or contacting the park representatives.
