Chatham Islands BioBlitz 2025

Wake up your inner scientist, learn more about what’s around us on the islands, and win prizes for spotting species in the first ever Chatham Islands BioBlitz.

Examples of Chatham Island species recorded on iNaturalist: CI red admiral, Magnus Persmark; lumpfish, Dave Holland; CI oystercatcher, Eamon Riordan-Short; parea, Sophie Futter; Dracophyllym scoparium, campbellnotjames; sun orchid, Reiner Richter.

What’s a BioBlitz, and why do one?

A BioBlitz is an event where people record as many living things as possible over a set time period. Essentially, people document and identify as many species as possible within a designated geographic area. It’s a way to focus effort and learn as much about a particular place as possible.

Gathering this data helps build a picture of exactly what is living are in a specific area: plants, insects, birds, fungi etc. Those taking part can learn lots about what’s around them (including getting an ID on species you’ve always wondered about) while also contributing to scientific knowledge.

It’s amazing how useful citizen science like this can be, from rediscovering species we thought were extinct, like the frosted phoenix moth on Rakiura, to identifying invasive weeds or fungal diseases like myrtle rust so they can be better understood.

BioBlitzes happen all around the world, including in Aotearoa. Small ones have been run on the Chathams by visiting scientists and other groups, but we thought it was time for a community BioBlitz across all the Chatham Islands.

Our Trust is organising this BioBlitz for the Festival of Science 2025, with support from ecologist and experienced BioBlitzer Tim Park. We’ll be using the iNaturalist platform, which connects users to a very effective digital tool and a global community of nature enthusiasts and experts who confirm or improve the identifications.

It’s easy to get involved (more below), we can help with any questions you have, and there will be prizes.

Download the BioBlitz handout 

Getting the perfect angle to snap a photo: Graeme Atkins and Hamish Chisholm spotting species at Pat's bush.

When is the Chatham Islands BioBlitz?

Categories and prizes

Spot prizes will be awarded on Sunday 17, and will include categories like Best photo, Weirdest find, Rarest find.

The prizes once all the results are in will be for the following categories:

• Expert Naturalist – the highest number of different species identified
• Rarest Species – the rarest species found in a surprising place
• Unexpected Weed – identifying an invasive species somewhere we didn’t know about
• Most Interesting Discovery – to be decided by the judges.

Winners and other highlights will be published on the Trust website on Sunday 24 August, and shared on social media.

Prizes are still to be announced, but they'll include nature-themed books, a Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust t-shirt and cap, art, and - perhaps most coveted of all - Brenda Tuanui's baking.

The judges for the competition will include Tim Park, who brings his conservation knowledge and experience with iNaturalist and BioBlitzes, and Mike Bell, one of our Trustees.

Screenshots of the iNaturalist app, showing species recorded on the Chatham Islands.

How to take part in the BioBlitz

To take part, you need the ability to take photos and an iNaturalist account (the iNaturalist app for phones is straightforward to use).

You don’t even have to go out of your way to participate if you don’t want to,* because this BioBlitz is happening across the entire archipelago. As long as you’re in the Chathams and can snap a pic of some wildlife from the farm bike, fishing boat, your arm chair as you peer out at the drizzle, or the heart of the bush if you’re ambitiously hiking Rangaika, you can be involved.

Here’s what you need to do to get involved:

• Set up a FREE iNaturalist account, either through your phone or on a web browser. More information about that here, or you either download the app from the app store or visit the iNaturalist website.
• Get familiar using iNaturalist. There’s a great short video here that gives you a run down. Practice taking photos of species and uploading your observations.
• During the week of the BioBlitz, take as many photos as you can of as many different species. You can either upload these observations on the iNaturalist app as you go, or upload them later at home. Make sure to include the location you found them and what you think it is (even if it’s as vague as “bird”) so other experts can find it and help ID it.
• Upload as many observations as you can before Sunday 17 in preparation for spot prizes and sharing highlights at Kopinga Marae. You can keep uploading your observations made during the week afterwards, but all observations need to be uploaded and identified on iNaturalist by Wednesday 20 to ensure they’re included for the final summary and prizes.
• The Museum will host a small photo exhibition from a selection of the images taken during the BioBlitz.

How iNaturalist works. Image: iNaturalist NZ

Other things you can do if you're really keen:

• Join the BioBlitz project on iNaturalist (screenshot below). You can join it now by following this link or searching for “Chatham Islands Festival of Science” in the app or on the website.
• Download a quick guide BioBlitz handout to print out for easy reference.
• Come along to the guided walk on on Rēkohu Wharekauri with, where you can practice using iNaturalist with Hamish and Jess. This will be the week before the BioBlitz - details to be shared here, in Community Focus, and on our Trust and the Festival of Science Facebook page closer to the time.
• Wait for the summary of findings and announcement of winners on the Trust's and Festival of Science's Facebook pages on Sunday 24. For locals, this will also be shared in Community Focus the following week.

*Although we said you don’t need to go out of your way... we highly recommend you do. It’ll increase your chances of spotting more species, build a wider knowledge base of what’s out there, and lift your chances of winning prizes. Plus, it’s the perfect excuse to get out and explore.

A screenshot of the BioBlitz project viewed on a webbrowser. Find the project on iNaturalist and join it!

Want some more info?

If you have any questions, or think you’d like some extra support with iNaturalist and the BioBlitz, you can get in touch with us by emailing info@chathamrestorationtrust.org.nz or sending us a message via our Facebook page.

If you’re keen to learn more about iNaturalist or BioBlitzes, we suggest you check out:

• info for Getting Started with iNaturalist
• highlights from the 2025 City Nature Challenge in Greater Wellington, which Tim Park helped to run: 
• this great TED Talk, “The surprising power of your nature photos” 
• this article by the Spinoff about how citizen science is democratizing discovery 
• the Chatham Islands Festival of Science Facebook page.