S2S and Blue Star Families host Bioblitz for Veteran Families in San Antonio!

S2S traveled to Friedrich Wilderness Park in San Antonio, Texas this past weekend to help guide and introduce a dozen Blue Star Families to Citizen Science! With the support of 8 Alamo Chapter Texas Master Naturalists, several of whom are also veterans, we showed the families how to use Seek and iNaturalist to identify different species of flora and fauna at the park. With these amazing apps, they were able to record what they saw and heard while also contributing to important science. We had a biodiversity scavenger hunt for the kids, and by the end, it was hard to tell whether the parents or children were having more fun!

S2S Executive Director Michael Cohn and Emily Loelke of Blue Star Familes worked hard over several weeks to arrange for the attendance of the master naturalists and the veteran families. Together, they put on a fantastic event, and the veterans and their families had a great time surveying the park. As part of our relationship with Blue Star Families, S2S is working to collaborate on more events throughout the Spring and Summer of 2025!

Mike joined the veterans and their families in taking amazing shots of the flora and fauna present at the park. Mike has worked hard to develop his photography skills as a part of his citizen science field work! The majority of the photos on our website are taken by him during various S2S events! He took some amazing shots, so be sure to check them out below!