School's Second Annual BioBlitz a Success

Principia School hosted its second annual BioBlitz on May 10 and 11. Despite cool and sometimes-wet weather, more than 250 school students from the St. Louis area—along with many families and community members—explored portions of Principia School’s 300+ acres of oak-hickory forest, prairie, ponds, and creek beds in order to survey the plants and animals living there. Guiding the citizen scientists were experts from the Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Department of Conservation, Wildheart Ecology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, The College School, and, of course, Principia School.

Scores of plant, animal, and insect species were spotted, often in abundance. To see the many species found on campus, go to iNaturalist, an online citizen science project, and search for Principia BioBlitz 2019.

Other BioBlitz activities included hayrides, stargazing, bird watching, bat netting, eye shining for wolf spiders, a pancake breakfast, plein air painting instruction, and a plein air painting contest, which was judged by local, award-winning artist Shawn Cornell. Principia seventh grader Samantha Chapman won the contest with a verdant nature scene (see the slideshow below). In addition, Upper School science teacher Joel Allen brought his telescope to campus, enabling many to catch incredible views of the Moon, Mars, and Capella.

See photos from BioBlitz 2019.