The Maryland Biodiversity Project (MBP) catalogs the living things of Maryland. The project was started in June 2012 by Bill Hubick and Jim Brighton. The incredible MBP community has cataloged nearly 20,000 species, including nearly 12,000 species with photographs, and feature the work of more than 10,000 community naturalists and photographers.
MBP is moving more deliberately into targeted data collection to address gaps in the state’s biodiversity data. The 2021 focus will be nocturnal insect surveys in areas with limited available insect data: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/project/snis/ This augmenting of MBP insect records will help shine a brighter light on insect diversity and insect biomass, both of which are important for a healthy planet. We hope to drive efforts to reduce loss of biodiversity and to promote healthy ecosystems.
Join MBP founder, Jim Richardson, via Zoom to learn more about the project and how it promotes conservation, science, and education by helping to build a vibrant nature study community, and how you can get involved. Jim is a native of the Eastern Shore, and grandson of boat builder Jim Richardson who studied contemporary literature at Salisbury University, but decided to follow the family tradition of working on boats. He has spent the past 23 years working at Campbell’s Boatyards in Oxford and in his spare time runs the non-profit Maryland Biodiversity Project, and document the incredible animals and plants of Maryland.