Highland Park Neighborhood Putting on the BioBlitz
Public Invited for Restoration Projects, Nature Walks, and Science Fun
May 17 & 18

Pittsburgh, PA — Scientists from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the region will conduct a 24-hour inventory of the flora and fauna of Highland Park on May 18th. The public is invited to a community volunteer day in the park that will feature nature walks, educational carriage rides, a science theater show, music and food. The event, which is sponsored by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Citiparks, will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Highland Park entryway.

The public is invited to sign up now for one of three BioBlitz 2002 ecological restoration projects. The projects, designed by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, include removal of invasive Japanese Knotweed, an erosion control project on the slope above Lake Carnegie and the plantings of native species along historic steps. Supporters include Dollar Bank, the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation and the Robert and Mary Weisbrod Foundation.

This year’s BioBlitz is designed to yield a successful "snapshot" of the biodiversity of Highland Park and to demonstrate the type of community volunteer work that helps enhance the diversity and health of an urban park. Previous BioBlitzes have been held at Riverview, Frick and Schenley Parks and led to counts of 1,164, 1,471 and 1,408 species of plants and animals respectively.

BioBlitz 2002 coincides with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Summer of Biodiversity programming and with a nationwide initiative called Explore Your World! Biodiversity Month, which is part of an international campaign to increase awareness of global biological diversity.

"Carnegie Museum of Natural History is pleased to cooperate with other local and national organizations in sponsoring a Biodiversity Summer," says Bill DeWalt, museum director. "One of our goals is to emphasize that conservation of biological diversity begins at home, in our backyards. This year's Bioblitz in Highland Park completes the initial surveys of the four major city parks in all of our backyards. Now that we know what is present, in future years we can begin monitoring the parks to determine what is appearing and what is disappearing — an essential element in determining the health of our local environment."

Nature walks begin at 10:30 a.m. The walks will include a tour of the "babbling brook" project of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and walks on the topics of paleontology, the history of the park, reservoir history and bird identification. A raptor show featuring live birds of prey will be held at noon, followed by "Science on Stage," a live theater show that explores biodiversity.

"We invite everyone to sign up for a restoration project or simply to come for a nature walk through this great park and see their neighbors at work," says Meg Cheever, president of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy will also sponsor an education day as part of the BioBlitz on May 17 for Fulton and Dilworth schools and the Pittsburgh Gifted Program. More than 200 11- and 12-year-olds will visit a variety of biodiversity stations in the park to learn more about mammals, bugs, plants, birds, water and decomposition. The PPC is working with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Audubon Society, Pittsburgh Voyager and the Frick Environmental Center on the education day. For more information, or to sign up for an ecological restoration project on May 18, please contact the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy at 412-682-7275.