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World Oceans Week BioBlitz
June 5 – June 14
Discover, Document, and Protect Ocean Life
As part of World Oceans Week, you’re invited to join a global BioBlitz using the free iNaturalist app. From June 5–14, people around the world will be exploring beaches, tidepools, streams, estuaries, shorelines, parks, and waterfronts to document the incredible diversity of life connected to our oceans.
A BioBlitz is a community science event where participants work together to record as many species as possible within a specific time period. Every observation helps build our understanding of biodiversity and contributes to one of the world’s largest citizen science databases.
Why Participate?
The ocean is home to an extraordinary diversity of life, but many species are facing increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, and human development. Scientists, conservation organizations, Indigenous stewardship programs, and governments rely on biodiversity data to better understand ecosystem health and make informed conservation decisions.
By participating in the World Oceans Week BioBlitz, you can:
- Help document local biodiversity on the Sunshine Coast and around the world
- Contribute valuable data used by scientists and conservation organizations
- Learn more about local marine and coastal species
- Explore beaches, shorelines, streams, and natural areas with fresh eyes
- Connect with a global community of nature enthusiasts and citizen scientists
- Celebrate World Oceans Week through hands-on stewardship and discovery
What Should I Look For?
You can record almost any living thing you find, including:
- Sea stars, anemones, crabs, and other tidepool creatures
- Marine mammals and seabirds
- Fish and forage fish spawning habitat
- Kelp, seaweeds, and eelgrass
- Coastal plants and wildflowers
- Freshwater species in streams and wetlands connected to the ocean
- Insects, fungi, and wildlife found near shorelines
Every observation counts—from a common barnacle to a rare species at risk.
How to Participate
- Create a free account.
- Download the free iNaturalist app on your smartphone.
- Visit a beach, shoreline, stream, estuary, wetland, park, or natural area.
- Take photos of plants, animals, fungi, or marine life.
- Upload your observations to iNaturalist between June 5–14.
- Join the World Oceans Week 2026 BioBlitz project and your observations will automatically contribute to the event.
No Experience Necessary
You don’t need to be a scientist or know species names to participate. Simply take clear photos and upload them. The iNaturalist community and identification tools will help identify what you’ve found.
Whether you contribute one observation or one hundred, you’ll be helping build knowledge about the biodiversity that makes our oceans and coastal ecosystems so special.
Join the BioBlitz
Be a citizen scientist. Explore your local shoreline. Discover something new. Help document the life that depends on healthy oceans.
Together, we can create a snapshot of ocean biodiversity during World Oceans Week and contribute to conservation efforts on the Sunshine Coast and beyond. 
Project Link: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/world-oceans-week-2026
Dates: June 5–14, 2026
Cost: Free
Suitable for: All ages and experience levels.