« All Events

Volunteer Opportunity: Texas Pollinator BioBlitz 2026

October 16 - November 1

Texas Master Naturalists can earn volunteer service hours by logging observations into iNaturalist. Go to your iNaturalist account (on a computer) and search for the project Texas Pollinator BioBlitz  2026 to learn more about the project. Then when you SHARE an iNaturalist observation, your eligible observations can be added to the project.

>>Record hours in VMS (including your travel time if you go to a specific location to do your observations) as: Citizen Science (Other) and put Texas Pollinator BioBlitz in the description.<< See below for tips on recording your hours!

The 11th Annual Texas Pollinator BioBlitz returns in October. Mark your calendars now and get ready for some photographic fun and the opportunity to contribute to community science!

Dates: October 16 – November 1, 2026

Join the fun:

  • All ages and abilities are encouraged to find pollinators and nectar-producing plants and take photos to share with friends and your local community!
  • Find events to attend near you (please note: new events added regularly) by using our online events calendar. You may also submit your events if your site is hosting an event this fall.
  • Post your pollinator photos during the event to your own Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook accounts (use #TxPollinators).
    Follow the 2026 Texas Pollinator BioBlitz event on Facebook to see daily challenges, links of interest, share your own photos, and more!
  • Be a part of community science! Add pollinator and flowering plant photos to iNaturalist during the event dates to be included in the 2026 Texas Pollinator BioBlitz iNaturalist project.

Whether you enjoy viewing pollinator photos, honing your photography skills, learning more about pollinators in Texas, or taking part in community science, we’ll have something for you!

For more information and to register, click here: https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/bioblitz

Now, here are some TIPS FOR RECORDING YOUR HOURS IN VMS:

* Every time you observe and submit your pollinator observations, make a note of your time.
*That means if you observed for 15 minutes then took another 5 minutes to share/post your observations to iNaturalist, that’s 20 minutes to make a note of.
* If you go to a particular location specifically to do your observations, for example, going to a local park, you may also add in reasonable travel time.
* At the end of the bioblitz days (midnight on November 1), or whenever you know you won’t be making any more observations, add up your times.
* On November 2 (or before), log into VMS and choose Citizen Science – other.
* Since this is one of the “field research” opportunities, you can put in begin and end dates so enter October 16 and November 1.
* Enter the TOTAL number of hours (to the nearest quarter hour) you spent over the 2 weeks.
* In Description, make sure you put Texas Pollinator Bioblitz 2026 with iNaturalist.

That’s it!

Tune up your iNaturalist app, charge your smartphone and set aside some times during those 2 weeks to be a Citizen Scientist.

Details