Smile Across America: Everglades Families Turn a Saturday Into a BioBlitz

A family learns about Everglades plants and wildlife with a park ranger.

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Everglades National Park is turning a Saturday morning into a shared nature notebook. On September 26, visitors can join a community BioBlitz that combines a ranger-led wet walk with species spotting and iNaturalist observations.

The National Park Service says participants will meet at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center at 9 a.m. and caravan to a cypress dome. Rangers will introduce the iNaturalist app before the group documents plants and animals along the wet walk.

A family learns about Everglades plants and wildlife with a park ranger.
Editorial illustration: an Everglades family BioBlitz briefing.

The event is free and designed for participants age 12 and up. The park recommends downloading iNaturalist in advance and bringing water, sunscreen, and a device for photographs.

For families, the appeal is practical and personal: a morning outside, a chance to learn the wetland’s residents, and a shared record of what the group discovers.

Children use binoculars and field notebooks during an Everglades BioBlitz.
Editorial illustration: young observers compare notes during the field walk.

National Public Lands Day events across the country invite people to care for public spaces together. Everglades’ BioBlitz adds a joyful field-science twist, with every observation becoming part of a community portrait of the park.

A park ranger points out wetland wildlife on a map during a family field briefing.
Editorial illustration: a ranger helps the group plan its route.

Sources: Everglades National Park BioBlitz event details and the National Park Service National Public Lands Day guide.

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