By Alyssa Esposito

Correspondent

The Nansemond River Preservation Alliance held its first “BioBlitz” event at Bennett’s Creek Park on Friday. People of all ages came out to learn and enjoy all that the local environment has to offer.

The goal was to identify species within the park and also “to encourage and inspire the public to explore the outdoors,” said Elizabeth Taraski, executive director of the alliance.

Having spent a considerable amount of time living near the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, as well as working in the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Multi-lifecycle Engineering Research Center, Taraski discovered her love of the outdoors.

Bennett’s Creek is one of many waterways that flow into the Nansemond River. Unfortunately, it needs restoring, according to the society’s “2014 Nansemond and Its Tributaries Report.”

The 24 people of varying levels of environmental science knowledge who came to the BioBlitz made it a group effort to identify numerous plant and wildlife species. While some of the attendees already had a wide knowledge of their surroundings, the group learned a lot from the experts brought in by the alliance.

From 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., the group observed birds, plants, trees, insects, fish, reptiles and crustaceans. One particularly helpful attendee, Bryan Barmore, helped locate and distinguish many types of birds. Among the group, individuals observed a variety of birds, some of which included a red tail hawk, a great egret, a blue jay, an Eastern bluebird, a house finch and numerous robins.

A few other attendees noted a large array of insects some of which included the red-spotted purple butterfly, the tiger swallowtail butterfly and the spring tail.

Local plant expert Byron Carmean, as well as a number of doctoral students from Old Dominion University, shared their knowledge of plant life while walking through the woodsy area of the park. The area is home to a vast array of plants including a 400- to 500-year-old bald cypress, tulip poplars, hackberry trees, Southern magnolias, Carolina jasmines, sweet gums and sycamore trees.

Throughout the event, individuals in the group saw crabs, but once they migrated to the creek, they saw even more. There, the group also saw water-dwellers such as anchovies and shrimp.

Taraski hopes to hold more BioBlitzes in other areas of the city in the future. You can also find other ways to get involved at www.nansemondriverpreservationalliance.org.