Biodiversity Day 2000 is drawing closer and the town of Madison is about to be invaded! For a 24-hour period beginning at 5 p.m. Friday September 8, over 75 experts and students from all over Connecticut will probe Madison's special places in search of things that live in them. The vast array of organisms that inhabit these places is termed biodiversity. Therefore, this event, sponsored by Menunkatuck Audubon, is called Biodiversity Day 2000.

What affects biodiversity and why is it important?

In general, the physical and chemical characteristics of a place determine the number, variety and interrelationships of its life forms. Water greatly increases the potential for species diversity, so wetlands and intertidal zones are "richer" than rocky outcrops. Since organisms interact with each other and their environment, ecosystems with a great variety of living organisms are usually healthy and possess a high degree of resilience to stress factors such as drought, pollution, insect outbreaks and disease.

Why Madison?

Madison is an ideal choice as the site for Biodiversity Day 2000 as it is blessed with a wide variety of ecosystems ranging from saline ocean, intertidal beaches and saltmarshes, to brackish estuaries. Further inland, many freshwater wetlands, streams and ponds are dispersed in grasslands and upland forests. Many of these sites lie wholly or partially within publicly owned lands.

Recording the biodiversity of natural ecosystems takes a lot of work by naturalists and assisting volunteers. Participants will include entomologists, botanists, ornithologists, herpetologists, mycologists, phycologists, ichthyologists and mammalogists. The headquarters for the event will be at Madison's Bauer Park. The park possesses a number of the ecosystems to be studied and is already the site of considerable activity in the areas of environmental education and conservation.

How will the information be used?

This is the first time for such a detailed survey in the Connecticut shoreline area. The findings, which will be published, will provide the raw material for an evaluation of the health and vitality of our principal ecosystems (and our own health?). They will serve as a benchmark against which future changes, both positive and negative, can be measured. Results will be of particular interest to the land trust, land use planners, schools and other environmental organizations.

Organizations that have pledged to help underwrite the event include United Illuminating (Earth Partner Grant), the Audubon Council of Connecticut, the Madison Garden Club, the Madison Land Conservation Trust, and Lenny and Joe's Fish Tale. Guides from the Madison Land Conservation Trust will shepherd teams to particular sites. Madison Public Television and the Coastal Camera Club will cover the event. Check our calendar of evening programs in a future newsletter for the date of a special slide presentation on our Biodiversity Day 2000. In the meantime, wish for pleasant weather on September 8 and 9!

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Last updated 18 September, 2004 .