By Heidi Hill
June 15, 2024
Dear Readers,
For the past six months, my husband, eight-year-old son, and I have been putting Blue Dot Kids Press’s mission—engaging young readers’ innate sense of wonder and empathy and connecting them to our global community and the pale blue dot we call home—into a new kind of action as we sail from California, USA, to New Zealand, being environmental citizen scientists along the way.
In April we shared how we were gathering data on plastics and explored citizen science ideas that readers could join us in trying, right from their own homes. For this current leg of our journey, we are focusing on biodiversity.
Most recently, we completed the biggest leg of our adventure, a 25-day sail across the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. The Marquesas form one of the most remote island groups in the world. They are the farthest set of islands from any continental land mass. Now we are traveling around the many atolls of French Polynesia, ring-shaped islands formed by coral surrounding a lagoon. We’ve been awed by the vast Taumotu atolls and islands.
Because French Polynesia is considered a biodiversity hot spot—meaning, the country is strong in biodiversity—this is a wonderful place for us as citizen scientists to focus on biodiversity and collect information for nonprofit organizations to help them grow their data sets and knowledge.
Part 1: What Is Biodiversity, and Why Is It Important?
Biodiversity refers to the variety of species living in an area. Everything counts—from plants and animals to algae and bacteria—when measuring a place’s biodiversity.
Because every species plays an important role in life on earth, a biodiverse ecosystem is a healthy ecosystem. Many species work together to help filter and clean water, while others create healthy soil that prevents damage from floods. Some, from pollinators to microbes, strengthen our food production, and others, including a variety of plants and fungi, can be made into medicines. Biodiversity is part of humanity’s cultural and spiritual practices and our economies. And when there is a lack of biodiversity, there is a steep cost.
We are experiencing a biodiversity crisis now. Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. One million animal and plant species are currently threatened with extinction by 2030. That’s one million holes—some tiny, some big, yet all crucial—in the carefully strung web that connects all of us on this planet, from human and animal to plant and microorganism.
Gathering Data to Improve Action
French Polynesia is one of the world’s top biodiversity hot spots. With 20% of the planet’s atolls, this country is home to the most diverse coral reef formations in the world. The seabird life of these islands is also very diverse.
My family and I have been contributing to iNaturalist, which is committed to helping us maintain a healthy ecosystem, even in the face of major extinction threats. We also contribute to the eBird research project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Some of the Life We’ve Observed
Blacktip reef shark
Small giant clam
Lagoon triggerfish
Brown land crab
White turn
Have you heard of any of those?
Check out iNaturalist’s database of species in French Polynesia. Which other species do you hope we’ll spot?
Part 2: Calling More Citizen Scientists! Help Us Make a Change!
One of the first steps toward caring about biodiversity is learning how biodiverse the area is around your home or school.
What you’ll need: Grab a pencil and a notebook or a camera. Do you have a bird book or a guide to plants? Grab that too! But don’t worry if you don’t—if you write or draw detailed descriptions of what you see, you can research what they are later.
Where you should go: Anywhere! Your usual route or somewhere different. Just go by foot! You need to look and listen (and maybe smell!) carefully.
How to observe: Look up at the sky and down at the ground. Look in trees and around rocks. Listen. Inhale deeply through your nose. Make note of all the plants and animals you notice…and don’t forget to look for evidence of creatures even if you don’t see or hear them directly. You may find feathers, fur, footprints, or…poop! All of that tells you who lives nearby.
Finally, share what you find—with your friends, family, neighbors, and teachers.
You can also sign up with iNaturalist, like my family has, and share with the world! iNaturalist even has guidance for you to plan a bioblitz with your school or community. During a bioblitz, a group of people tries to record as many species as possible within a set location and time period.
Bonus Learning Opportunities
Citizen science is not the only way to learn about biodiversity. On our sailboat, we also do a lot of researching and discussing, and even have fun with STEM activities. Here are a few ideas for you too!
Gain Knowledge
The author of our book Our World Out of Balance: Understanding Climate Change and What You Can Do wrote, “Scientists say that species are going extinct between 100 and 1,000 times faster than before humans became the dominant species on Earth.” Together, talk about some of the species the book lists as being at risk of going extinct. Where do they live, and what is their role in our ecosystem? What are the conservation efforts to try to help them survive?
Tristan albatross
Roatán coral snake
Bornean orangutan
African wild ass
Tarzan chameleon
Saiga antelope
Giant ibis
Chinese pangolin
Lemur
Red wolf
Take Action
Science Buddies offers great free STEM activities focused on biodiversity. One of my favorites is the bug vacuum (no insects harmed, of course!). Using this simple, homemade device made of common household materials, you can safely collect bugs.
Out here in the middle of the ocean, it can seem impossible to catalog all the species. Not only is the ocean too vast for one small family to be able to see at once but we never know if the fish that swam by is the exact same one we saw an hour ago or its buddy. This is not an unusual challenge. Wildlife biologists working everywhere in the world have to not only figure out creative ways to observe sometimes-difficult-to-observe creatures (like fish and bugs) but estimate a larger population based on the smaller sample size they can collect.
Pretend to be a wildlife biologist studying insects with this fun activity!
This bug vacuum activity takes under an hour, and all you need are these materials:
Plastic container with lid that can be cut (this is a great opportunity to clean and then reuse something like a sour cream, yogurt, or takeout container)
Single hole punch
Two wide and flexible drinking straws
Tape
Pen or pencil
Nylon stocking that can be cut up
Scissors
Clear plastic wrap
Access to an outside area where there is likely to be bugs
See the detailed instructions, with helpful photos, on the Science Buddies bug vacuum page.
Research and Get Inspired!
Ned McNaughton was only twelve years old when most of the forest near his home in Australia burned during the Black Summer Bushfires of 2019–2020. That tragedy started him thinking about the importance of keeping our biodiverse areas safe, like Australia’s forests. When he was fifteen years old and out exploring near his home, he happened upon sixty-nine acres of undeveloped jungle. He did not want wildfires or destructive development to happen to this patch of land.
He worked with interested adults to protect the forest. A university professor of forestry and environmental management helped bring to light the biodiversity of the area, which includes the endangered southern greater glider, a marsupial that can “fly.” A couple passionate about conservation purchased the land and in partnership with the Biodiversity Legacy set up a trust to protect it. Now, it’s known as Ned’s Forest and will continue to be safe for all the plants and animals that call it home. Plus, this sixty-nine-acre block will become the site of the Ned’s Forest Education Program, a “living laboratory” supporting safe and sustainable monitoring and studying of the many native species living there.
What’s an idea you have for learning more or doing more to support biodiversity where you live?
Stay tuned for more Set Sail for Science updates as we continue to cross the Pacific Ocean and sail through the Cook Islands and the islands of Tonga before we reach our final destination of New Zealand!
Heidi Hill
Founder & Publisher
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