Big Thompson River, which flows through Moraine Park, CO is teeming with tiny lifeforms called macro-invertibrates and high school freshmen and sophomores from Rocky Mountain High School in Ft. Collins, CO and Central High School in Grand Junction, CO came ready to plunge into the river–waders first. Their task: to take samples of the creek water under the guidance and supervision of local scientists in order to get an idea of the freshwater creek’s biodiversity. Armed with mesh pond nets, rubber wading boots and white plastic trays, the students took turns collecting samples, transferring them carefully to the river water-filled trays, and (carefully) running the collections up to the identification tables set up a few meters away. Photo courtesy of Kimberly Schott.

Students and families participated in the bird and mammal inventory groups at Upper Beaver Meadows. Groups were split and taken to the different stations. At each station, the group was shown how scientists catch and identify species. This location included an enclosure which is used to keep elk from consuming the riparian vegetation. Most of the scientist’s research included a comparison of species inside and outside of the enclosures  to see if the diversity was higher within the enclosures. Photo courtesy of Mia Diawara.

Back at basecamp, a BioBlitz volunteer holds a bull snake for visitors to see. Photo courtesy of Holly Newell.

A mother a child share the view: Travelers from all over the country visit Rocky Mountain National Park for its expansive views and amazing character.  Forest Canyon Overlook sits in the Alpine zone, almost 12,000 feet about sea level.  Views of Hayden Spire are a favorite of families and photographers. Photo courtesy of Holly Newell.

This family, photographed at Forest Canyon Overlook, traveled all the way from Pittsburgh to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and the BioBlitz. Photo courtesy of Josh Hendrickson.

Iceberg Pass winds up several thousand feet through Rocky Mountain National Park, providing breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding valleys. Photo courtesy of Holly Newell.

Botanist Steve Olson shows the group one of the valley’s many species during the vascular plant inventory. Photo courtesy of Holly Newell.

Back at basecamp, Frank Borke explains the Underwater Robotic Camera System to students in attendance. The system is used to explore locations that are difficult to explore.  Recently, the Underwater Robotic Camera System was used to photograph a cenote in Hoyo Negro, Mexico. Photo courtesy of Curtis Malarkey.

The antler displayed was a real delight among children in attendance. Photo courtesy of Holly Newell.