New Pioneers was delighted to partner with the Loretto Community to facilitate our fourth annual BioBlitz program during Loretto Schools' Service Week in June 2025! Students and educators from Nerinx Hall (St. Louis, MO), Loretto Academy (El Paso, TX), and St. Mary’s Academy (Denver, CO) joined us for this immersive experience to explore Kentucky's diverse landscape, dedicating the rest of their week to engaging in service and learning about the Loretto Community at their Motherhouse.

This year, New Pioneers' Executive Director, Julia, and Community Educator, Ivoree, carried out this program with the support of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Our BioBlitz efforts were focused on the area near Badin Pond, where we explored the pond itself, the nearby pollinator habitat, and the surrounding sky and trees for birds!

In case you're unfamiliar with the term, a BioBlitz program is a citizen science initiative where a group of people explore a designated area to identify, track, and document all species present within a set period. The success of the Loretto BioBlitz was enhanced by its history of similar events in the same location over several years, enabling the community to observe changes in biodiversity over time. This program is termed “citizen science” because it involves everyday, untrained volunteers in scientific data collection, helping to expand the scope and volume of environmental monitoring.

Overall, this unique program was quite the success this year, helping youth connect with the great outdoors and deepen their care for the environment! From identifying local pollinators and native wildflowers to pinpointing macroinvertebrate and bird species, our participants were sure to learn about and explore new flora and fauna.

To view more photos from the 2025 Loretto BioBlitz, click here or the collage above!