Bioblitz in Tarvin Woodland

What on earth is a Bioblitz?

It is unlikely that you haven’t come across a flyer or a poster inviting you and your family to a Bioblitz in Tarvin woodland on Saturday 27th September 2025. However, you may still not have much of an idea about what will be going on, and so an explanation might be in order.

The Bioblitz is a means whereby a great raft of people – including (we hope) YOU – can come and help us to find out exactly what we have living in Tarvin Woodland. “Ah,” I hear you say, “don’t the Trustees KNOW what there is in Tarvin Woodland?” Well . Yes and no. We do know what trees are there, we know what wildflowers pop up each year and what birds live in and visit our woodland. We also know that we have creatures, such as squirrels, moles, bats, mice, voles, etc., not to mention earthworms, earwigs, slugs and snails. However, this is not even scratching the surface of the vast range of plants, creatures, mini-beasts and micro-beasts that actually live in our woodland. The honest truth is that none of the Trustees are equipped to even begin a decent scientific survey of what lives in the woodland.

Like a White Knight to the rescue, a relatively new villager has come to our aid. She is Dr Jodie Gruber, a lecturer at the University of Chester, with a wide interest in Environmental Biology. She suggested that we might at least make a start by enlisting the help of as many villagers and village families as we could. On one day (which is actually Saturday, 27th September, between the hours of 10am and 3pm), under the guidance of staff from Chester University who have been persuaded to help, folk will explore different areas of the woodland, finding plants and animals and, with help, identifying what they are. Really, it involves everyone becoming a biological detective for a few hours, with the result that, at the day’s end, there will be the most complete list of things that live in the woodland that we have ever had! We are promised arts and crafts for youngsters, with a mini-beast treasure hunt and training to turn children into Nature Detectives.

While the whole event may run from 10am to 3pm, people are welcome to drop in for as long or as brief a time as they have available. It promises to be the perfect day for everyone who has an interest in nature, and especially for families whose youngsters will love becoming nature detectives!

We will all meet in the Woodland’s Orchard Area, behind Crossfields (where the Apple Pressing will be held on the following Saturday!)