It’s Great Southern Bioblitz time again!
Posted on 9 November, 2026 by Lori
For the sixth year running, Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club is the host for our region’s participation in this annual mega 4-day Citizen Scientist project. Right across the Southern Hemisphere people will be out joining the scientists who desperately need our help to build the scientific databases so necessary for better understanding and management of our local and global environments.
Join the GSB 2026 from midnight Friday 27 November to midnight Monday 30 November. Take your phone or camera into the bush, the park or your garden and record images or sounds of all the wild animals, birds, insects, plants and fungi you can find. You might even find a tiny resin bee, Megachile aurifrons, just like the beautiful little fellow above in the banner. He was photographed by native bee specialist extraordinaire Lynda Wilson in her garden, on a Westringea flower.
Adding your observations to the databases is easy. Simply download the iNaturalist app to your phone or laptop and upload your photos or sound recordings. They will be automatically allocated by their location to Great Southern Bioblitz 2026 – Castlemaine Region. You might also like to attend one of the GSB special events below to learn from the experts about our amazing local species and/or how to use iNaturalist and add your observations to the global iNaturalist database.
Special Events:
“Bioblitz preparation, use of iNaturalist in the field at Walmer Forest Reserve”
Saturday November 14 2026 1.30pm
Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club Monthly Excursion, visitors welcome.
Meet northern end of the car park north of the Railway Goods Shed, Kennedy St. Castlemaine.
“What’s that Bird/Bug/Flower? Learn how to use iNaturalist to explore the natural world”
Saturday November 28th 2026 – 8.30am to late morning
Building on the success and fame of last year’s Red, White and Blue event, your guides for 2026 will be:
- Patrick Kavanagh, creator of stunning bird and macro insect photography;
- Andrew Skeoch, nature sound recordist from Listening Earth, who invites us to listen deeply and learn from nature; and
- Frances Cincotta from Newstead Natives, whose breadth and depth of knowledge about local flora is rich and outstanding.
Red, White and Blue Recreation Area, Muckleford State Forest. Morning tea provided.
Please join us. The citizen science movement involves millions of people around the world noticing, recording, and documenting their observations. Every observation counts as we continue to add to the biodiversity databases, discovering and learning more about the non-human species with whom we share the planet and its future.
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