William Crooks
Sisters Cindy and Mary Smith stand in front of an abandoned garden in Mary’s backyard in Lennoxville, where tall stalks of the invasive plant Common Mullein have taken over. This year’s Big Backyard BioBlitz is especially encouraging participants to report sightings of invasive species like this one.
NCC’s Big Backyard Bioblitz returns for a fifth year
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is inviting Canadians of all ages to step outside and reconnect with nature as its fifth annual Big Backyard BioBlitz kicks off July 28 and runs through August 4. Whether from a balcony, a backyard, or a deep forest trail, participants are encouraged to document plants, animals, fungi, and insects—helping scientists better understand biodiversity while learning about their own natural surroundings.
“It’s a really important opportunity for us as a conservation organization to mobilize Canadian nature inspectors,” said NCC spokesperson Jensen Edwards July 22. “There are way more participants than there are scientists in Canada. We can’t be everywhere all the time, and using people’s eyes and ears and phones and recording devices, we get a much better sense of the state of nature.”
To take part, all that’s needed is a smartphone, tablet, or camera. Participants simply photograph what they see—or record sounds—and upload the observations to a national biodiversity database via backyardbioblitz.ca. The site includes instructions, species identification tips, and automatic recognition tools to help users name what they’ve captured, even if they don’t know it themselves. “Thankfully, the technology we use for this can actually help with identification,” said Edwards. “You just need to upload the photo and the platform and community will do its best to identify it for you.”
This year, the BioBlitz has been extended from five days to a full week to give participants more flexibility—whether they’re families enjoying the long weekend or coworkers looking to bond over nature. The website also features a “Coin des jeunes” section with downloadable activities like scavenger hunts, bingo, word searches, and colouring pages to help children and students get involved.
Started in 2021, the BioBlitz has quickly grown into one of NCC’s most valuable citizen science initiatives, according to a related release. Over 193,000 observations have been submitted so far, documenting more than 8,600 different species across the country, including many considered rare, at risk, or endangered. In 2024 alone, more than 900 Quebecers participated and submitted over 5,560 observations.
Among the most commonly recorded species in recent years is the endangered monarch butterfly. “Funnily enough, in the last two years, the monarch butterfly is the most observed species we get through the BioBlitz,” Edwards said. “That’s heartening, because it means people are seeing them and recognizing them—and that’s great news for both monarch recovery campaigns and public awareness.”
But the event isn’t only about spotting charismatic or rare species. It also plays a critical role in tracking invasive plants, particularly in regions like Quebec. “Things like phragmites or purple loosestrife crowd out native species and disrupt ecosystems—and they’re really expensive to remove,” said Edwards. “If people can spot them early and flag them for us, it gives NCC or municipalities a heads-up and an opportunity to get ahead of the problem before it spreads too far.”
The BioBlitz data informs NCC’s conservation strategies and partnerships with governments, First Nations, and private landowners. If monarchs, for example, are spotted in new areas, NCC can investigate whether that land might be worth protecting. “It helps validate our models,” said Edwards. “It can also reveal opportunities to make an impact for any species.”
This kind of community-based science is especially useful in regions like the Eastern Townships, where urban and rural spaces blend together. “The Green Mountains Corridor is one of the most important land migratory corridors in eastern North America,” Edwards explained. “We work really hard to conserve land there not just for the species that live in those areas, but also for the people. It’s helpful to know where big mammals like moose and black bears—or even vulnerable road-crossers like snapping turtles—are spotted so we can understand where their movements might be blocked or disrupted.”
Pascal Côté, Director of Strategic Conservation and Innovation at NCC, echoed that sentiment in the press release: “Each observation helps us monitor biodiversity, detect invasive species, and understand how climate change is affecting ecosystems. Participating in the BioBlitz allows people to have fun and learn, while actively contributing to a national effort to better understand and protect biodiversity.”
Observations from the BioBlitz are added to global open-source biodiversity platforms and are available to scientists, conservationists, and land planners worldwide. The event is also a way to build community around nature appreciation. “You really build a sense of community because you see the power of mobilizing all these people around one goal,” said Edwards. “It’s a reminder of how much people care, and how much they can contribute.”
Participants are encouraged to share their discoveries on social media using the hashtag #BioBlitzCNC. The 2025 Big Backyard BioBlitz is supported by NCC sponsor Manulife.
For more information or to register, visit backyardbioblitz.ca.