Date: Jul 16, 2008

Hofstra to Sponsor Meadowbrook "BioBlitz"

Comprehensive inventory of all living organisms along highway corridor to take place in September

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – Hundreds of local volunteers including students, area residents and biologists are expected to take part in a 24-hour "BioBlitz" this fall that will attempt to document all living organisms along a 7.5-mile stretch of the Meadowbrook Parkway corridor in Nassau County. Hofstra University is the academic sponsor of the Meadowbrook BioBlitz, and its Biology Department will provide experts needed to organize the field work and identify the species found during the September19-20 event.

The Meadowbrook BioBlitz will be the largest biological survey ever undertaken in the Northeast, said Hofstra Biology Professor Russell Burke, Ph.D., who is a member of the Meadowbrook BioBlitz Steering Committee. The Meadowbrook Corridor runs from the Hempstead Plains near Nassau Community College on the northern end to the Norman J. Levy Preserve on the South Shore wetlands by Merrick-Freeport Bay.

“BioBlitzes have the goal of getting people to better understand the biodiversity around them, and therefore to better appreciate the habitats that exist near them,” said Dr. Burke. Hofstra is supporting the program as part of its new Urban Ecology initiative.  The initiative will include undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Urban Ecology, which is the study of animals and plants in urban situations. “Fifty percent of the world’s population lives in cities and there are huge numbers of rare and endangered species that live in cities, so we have to include urban habitats in our studies.”

The proposal for this BioBlitz came from the Nassau County Legislature. Legislators David Denenberg and Norma Gonsalves assembled a committee consisting of scientists, community leaders, and volunteers to assist in the effort. In addition to Hofstra, coordinators of the event include leaders from the Center for Science Teaching and Learning, Nassau Community College, America the Beautiful of Nassau County and Nassau County government.

More information on the event is at http://www.meadowbrookbioblitz.org/.  Volunteers at all skill levels are encouraged to sign up now.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 145 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence. The University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students’ interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations.  The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future.

Related Link: More information and to volunteer