The second edition of the Bioblitz workshop was conducted by the Department of Botany of St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur in association with Kerala State Biodiversity Board on October 6-7, 2023. The workshop aimed to train school and college students to assess, document, and publish campus biodiversity in a digital open platform.
The workshop began with an inauguration ceremony, where the principal of St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur, Fr. (Dr.) Martin K.A. inaugurated the workshop and the Thrissur District coordinator of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Mr. Febin Francis, delivered the keynote. The Head of the Department of Botany, Dr. Geethu Elizabath Thomas, welcomed the guests and participants, and Dr. Joby Paul proposed the vote of thanks. The second session of the workshop began with a talk on biodiversity by Dr. Joby Paul, St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur, followed by talks on biodiversity assessment by survey method, identification of common plants, birds in the backyard, butterflies in the backyard, and dragonflies and damselflies. These talks were delivered by Ms Sreeshma P.S., Ms Divya P. Venugopal, (St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur), Ms Sreelakshmi V., Mr Abhin M. Sunil (College of Forestry, Kerala Agriculture University, Thrissur) and Mr Vivek Chandran A., (Christ College, Irinjalakkuda), respectively.
On the second day of the workshop, a biodiversity survey was conducted at Thekkinkadu Maidan, where 24 tree species, many butterflies, and birds were enumerated. A talk on biodiversity databases and their preparation was then conducted by Dr. Joby Paul, St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur, followed by a session on biodiversity data analysis and web database preparation. In the afternoon session, a talk on QR coding of campus plants was delivered by Ms Aparna Joseph St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur, and students were trained to prepare QR codes for trees. A presentation of the databases of each school and college was conducted, and feedback on the workshop was gathered. Rev. Fr. Biju Panengadan, Executive Manager, St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur interacted with the participants during the workshop. The workshop concluded with a valedictory function, where certificates were distributed to the participants by the Principal Fr. (Dr.) Martin K.A., St. Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur.
A total of 62 students from 13 high schools in Thrissur district and 7 colleges from Kerala participated in the workshop. The workshop enabled the students to collect, analyse, document, and systematically publish biodiversity data on open web platforms. The Bioblitz workshop was financially supported by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Thiruvananthapuram.
