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CREC Two Rivers Helps to Set BioBlitz World Record

(East Hartford, CT) CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School recently helped set a world record.

The Connecticut State BioBlitz was held at the school June 3 and June 4, and CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School students joined members of the public and more than 170 scientists as they collected and identified 2,765 different animals, plants, and other species in Greater Hartford. The previous world record was 2,519 species in a 24-hour period.

Each year, more than 200 BioBlitz events are held throughout the country. CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School, located on the bank of the Connecticut River, served as the Connecticut event’s home base this year and its hub for public programming.

“We were thrilled to host this amazing educational event,” said CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School Principal Jill Wnuk. “We are a magnet school with an environmental theme, and we believe in providing our students with hands-on opportunities to learn about our ecosystem.”

During BioBlitz, ornithologists logged 100 species, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons, and biologists recorded 29 species of fish, mostly from the Connecticut and Hockanum rivers. Botanists counted 631 different plants, 1,316 species of insects were catalogued, and a black bear was spotted at Keney Park.

“The discovery of more than 2,760 kinds of wildlife, all within a 5.5 mile radius of downtown Hartford/East Hartford, surprised all of the event’s participants,” said David Wagner, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, director of the Center for Conservation and Biodiversity at UConn, and the event’s lead scientist and director. “We live in a wonderful area of the country, infused with extraordinary arrays of plants, birds, insects, and other wildlife which in sum, we can thank for our clean water and air, fertile soils, and foods. The event’s remarkable findings underscored what amazing wildlife can be found just outside one’s backdoor in Connecticut, and the opportunities that we have as residents for recreation, for education, for discovery.”

While Saturday’s activities were open to the public, Friday’s activities were only for select middle and high school students who were accepted into the BioBlitz Jr. Scientist Program, including 14-year-old Jenna Langevin, of Hebron, and 12-year-old Rachel Dunnery, of Rocky Hill. Both are CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School students, and they said they were excited to be part of the program and to learn from scientists.

In addition to CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School, BioBlitz organizers included UConn’s Center for Conservation and Biodiversity, State Museum of Natural History, and ecology and evolutionary biology department; the Connecticut Science Center; and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The event was made possible by a grant from the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School is a science and technology-based learning community for students in grades six, seven, and eight. In April, it was one of only three Connecticut schools to be named a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The schools were honored for reducing environmental impact and utility costs, improving health and wellness, and ensuring effective sustainability education. Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy issued a press release announcing the honor.

“As a school community, we care about our environment and the many species who share our space with us,” Wnuk said. “We do everything we can to learn about it and preserve it.”