FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2002

Contact: Gina Adams
Program Director, IBOY
Tel: (970) 491 3552
Fax: (970) 491 1965

Download MS Word version of the release here

Communities Celebrate Spring with the First National Biodiversity Month

Fort Collins, CO - The Biodiversity Month network today announced the kick-off of Explore Your World! Biodiversity Month celebrations that will be held across America this May. As spring unfurls, museums, botanic gardens, community groups and schools from Connecticut to California are organizing events to explore and raise awareness of America’s biodiversity.

“Scientists and educators are asking the public to join them in learning about and conserving our rich variety of life,” explained biologist Ellen Censky, Chair of Biodiversity Month and Director of the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. Organizers hope Biodiversity Month will raise awareness of what biodiversity is, how it contributes to healthy environments and economies, and how our everyday choices affect it. Activities planned include: BioBlitzes a 24 hour scientific race to survey life in a park or natural area; a national Backyard BioBlitz for children; fairs, festivals and free days; nature hikes; ecological restoration projects and special exhibitions and seminars.

Highlights of Biodiversity Month events across the country include:
Santa Clara County, CA, May 11-12 - 4H members will take part in a Backyard BioBlitz with students from San Jose State University, joining schools and youth groups across the country in the national Backyard BioBlitz count and contest.
Pittsburgh, PA, May 17-18 - The Carnegie Museum of Natural History will work with local schools and the Highland Park community for a volunteer day to inventory and restore the Park's fauna and flora.
Denver, CO, May 18 - Denver Museum of Nature and Science will hold “Ameobas to Zebras: A Celebration of Biodiversity” day that will feature lectures and interactive exhibits with biologists from around the region and hands-on activities for all the family.
St. Louis, MO, May 18-19 - “Nature Days at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve” will have a free public admission day in which scientists and the public will inventory biodiversity and monitor the environment.
Norwich, CT, May 31-June 1 - The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History BioBlitz will be part contest, part festival, and part scientific endeavor, for scientists and the public to conduct a rapid-assessment of Mohegan Park.
The Biodiversity Project - will launch “Five Steps to Healthier Homes and Habitats” offering gardeners and cooks five simple and effective actions that will help protect their families’ health, their quality of life and the environment.

Explore Your World! Biodiversity Month is a national contribution to the International Biodiversity Observation Year (IBOY) and marks the United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22. Celebrations are being coordinated by IBOY which is based at Colorado State University and is an initiative of DIVERSITAS, the international program on biodiversity science. Visit www.biodiversitymonth.org to find out about events in your area, or for more information on the organizations and events that are part of the Biodiversity Month network. ###

Editors Note:
The International Biodiversity Observation Year (IBOY) 2001 – 2002 is a grassroots effort of the international scientific community to (i) promote and integrate biodiversity science, advancing a holistic understanding of biodiversity, and (ii) increase communication of science-based information on biodiversity and its links to daily living, to a broad audience. Intellectual sponsorship is provided by the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS), Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). IBOY has been endorsed by the Sixteenth International Botanical Congress (IBC) and the Second World Conservation Congress of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The Fifth Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) invited parties to participate in the IBOY. Financial sponsorship of IBOY is provided by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) (under Grant No. DEB-0122141), the International Council for Science (ICSU), Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International (CABS), the International Group of Funding Agencies (IGFA), DIVERSITAS, and two anonymous US foundations. More information on IBOY is available at http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/IBOY