ESTHER MOSTERT
What would get 16 people scramblling around in thick bush, trying not to fall down a cliff, and stopping to take photos of any plant or animal they see on the way, all on an overcast Saturday morning?
Most likely the lure of experiencing an exquisite local wilderness area and the chance to learn something new.
I was one of those 16, curious to discover first-hand what taking part in a bioblitz involved. The event was organised by Friends of Bathurst Nature (formerly Friends of Waters Meeting). My zoological background and a childhood spent mostly outdoors exploring a very large rambling garden, meant joining this outing was a no-brainer.
Led by Monty Roodt, who walks on the Bathurst Commonage almost daily, we drove a few kilometres down a dirt road and stopped near an impressive viewpoint of the Lushington River, before it joins the Kowie River at Penny’s Hoek Pool.
We had several experts with us in the group including Talk of The Town’s ‘Gardening with Nature’ columnists Rina Grant-Biggs, Sandi Richter and Ryana Johnson.
After a warning to watch our footing near the cliff edge, for the next one and a half hours we were given free rein to wander around the area, merrily snapping photos of all and any plant or animal species we came across.
Most people had no no cellphone reception at the site; however, some were able to upload photos directly to the iNaturalist App. It was fun to observe the delight and satisfaction when the app gave them an immediate suggestion for its identity along with a confidence percentage (in other words how confident the app was that it was right).
In my case, I was only able to upload my photos to the iNaturalist App once back home. Initially my photos were labelled as ‘unidentified’ but with experts on iNaturalist adding IDs, a few hours later when I checked on my observations again, I was happy to see one of my photos of a red flower that caught my eye, was verified as ‘Research Grade’ and identified as a Karoo boerboon ‘Schotia afra’. I was glad that I now had a name to put to the flower.
This local bioblitz was part of a worldwide event: the ‘Great Southern Bioblitz’ held every year (in 2025, from October 24-27). The push here is to focus on a global period of intense biological surveying in the southern hemisphere springtime and to engage the public in more nature and science learning, using the platform iNaturalist.
Karen Dunn, a recent Gauteng immigrant to the Eastern Cape, helped champion this Bathurst segment of the Great Southern Bioblitz 2025: Albany CoE’ (centre of endemism).
“A Bioblitz is an amazing opportunity for ordinary citizens to make a contribution to science,” Dunn said. “It’s also a fabulous fun way to learn more about our local biodiversity and to experience the joy of field work firsthand. When residents become passionate about the biodiversity around them, they’re more inclined to act in ways that protect it.”
The Bathurst Commonage, all 3000 hectares of it (the largest in South Africa) is an incredible resource on our doorstep, and this bioblitz seems like a win-win opportunity: it encourages locals to get out into natural spaces, to capture observations to add to a larger scientific database and to keep learning in the process.
I certainly have, and will keep adding observations to my profile on iNaturalist when I can.
There will be many times that I head out into a wilderness space, without my phone at hand. But if I do come across a now familiar deep reddish pink flower, on a specific tree in the thicket, I will be sure to greet the Karoo boerboon, Schotia afra, grateful for the role it plays in the our beautiful thicket. Just me, smiling at a red flower, no technology in sight.
About iNaturalist
Once you have downloaded the app, and created a profile, you can upload any photos, which are then listed as observations. These observations (photos) are processed initially by AI and assigned to a category, but then verified by an expert and then classified as ‘Research Grade’ on the app. That makes them a resource for anyone to view and use. Projects can be created within iNaturalist and for this Bioblitz the relevant project is ‘Great Southern Bioblitz 2025: Albany CoE’.
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Esther Mostert is a Zoology graduate who likes to share her love of the natural environment.
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, October 30, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays
