06.06.26, 1000-soortendag

Find 1,000 different species of animals and plants in 24 hours; that’s the challenge set by Natuurpunt and the Ghent Environmental Front! This time, not in a nature reserve, but within Ghent’s ring road – in other words, the city centre. You might think that few plants and animals feel at home here. But the urban ecosystem is very diverse and some species have adapted extremely well. Still, it will be a challenge to actually find 1,000 species. So we’re calling on everyone to help with the search and submit their sightings at waarnemingen.be.

This year, the base of operations is the Bijloke site. As the local cultural partners are very curious to find out what’s living on the site, we’re holding a mini-bioblitz to find 300 species within the site.

We are also organising a whole host of guided walks and demonstrations to introduce everyone to different species groups in an accessible way. You can also expect some rather unusual activities such as 

A  reflective bike ride

A conversation about how words shape our lives together

A film night on urban nature at KASKcinema 

Meer Koet, Minder Afval by former student Jaron Vandevelde. 

You can make a reservation for these activities via the website of Natuurpunt.