Blockbuster 2017 Officially Underway!

With blocks assigned and training completed, the Blockbuster 2017 Survey Season has started with a bang! This year, we have 91 volunteers with 96 blocks assigned. Thank you so much to all of our returning surveyors and new volunteers who attended our training sessions with bright eyes and fresh faces, ready to search out those pesky invaders! We had an excellent turn out this year and are thrilled to have so many eager participants contributing to the cause. Without the help of determined and passionate citizen scientists like you, these projects would not be possible. 

Important Tips

To help you get started surveying your block, here are some key points to keep in mind.

• In your block, you are completing 3 seperate surveys: an HPA (Highly Probable Area), a Trailhead/Parking lot, and a Natural Area. Each survey is 4 segments, and each segment is 330ft. long. In order for your data to be complete, you will need to do all 3 surveys in each block you have chosen (if you chose more than one.)

At minimum, you should have 17 waypoints for each survey assuming your selected location allows you to walk the full 4 segments. This would mean you are taking a waypoint at minimum every 110ft, reporting each species found within that area or none at all if that is the case, and also segment boundaries at the start and at 330 ft marks.

• When using the smart phone app, take a new point for each species seen within a third of a segment (110 ft). That means, if you spot 20 Japanese Barberry plants, a grove of Tree-of-heaven, and 2 Garlic Mustard plants, you will add a new page for each species by pressing the “+” sign resulting in 3 separate records even if they are at the same point.

• If you have walked a third of a segment (110 ft.) and seen zero invasives, add a page, select “No” under “Scan for Invasives,” take a waypoint, and continue. By stopping to consider if you really didn’t see any invasive plants and confirming that with a waypoint, you will gather more complete and detailed data that will help us determine what areas are more invaded than others.
• After you have walked 3 thirds (330 ft total), mark a segment boundary and continue on to your next segment.
• Have fun! We want you to despise invasive plants as much as we do, but we also want you to love searching for them and being a part of something ambitious that we can all be proud of.

Online Resources

We know learning data collection protocols, a smart phone application, and how to identify 27 different species can be daunting, but we’re here to help! By visiting the Lower Hudson PRISM Blockbuster 2017 page, you have access to all of the training materials used at your training workshop to refresh your memory, as well as some new additions that could prove useful.

Timing of Surveys

You can survey at any time during the summer. Please aim to finish by the end of the growing season. This is typically the end of September or early October.  Most of our focal plants are most easily identified right now and with mild temperatures for this time of year, have a reason to get out and enjoy the weather.

Questions about the App?

Call us! We are happy to walk you through step-by-step if you get stuck.

Robert Celestin, GIS Assistant: 201-512-9348 ext. 832

Lindsay Yoder, Assistant Invasives Program Coordinator: 201-512-9348 ext. 822

Dr. Linda Rohleder, LH PRISM Coordinator: 201-512-9348 ext. 821

You can also feel free to email us at invasives@nynjtc.org.