Desert Rise Sanctuary

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Bio Blitz

Desert Rise Sanctuary

Bio Blitz – October 9-11

The Mojave Desert holds more life than most people imagine. Beneath the wide open sky near Joshua Tree, California, a quiet and powerful effort takes shape – and Desert Rise Sanctuary invites you to be part of it.

What Is a BioBlitz?

A BioBlitz is a focused, community-powered effort to document every living species on a piece of land within a specific window of time. Cameras click. Notebooks fill. Plant names get recorded. Animal tracks get photographed. The result is a living archive – a snapshot of biodiversity that tells the land’s story and guides how we protect it going forward.

October 9-11 at Desert Rise Sanctuary

This October, Desert Rise Sanctuary hosts its first BioBlitz weekend, and the mission runs deep. The team works to build a comprehensive archive of the land in support of a desert tortoise pond and habitat restoration project. Desert tortoises hold a sacred place in the Mojave ecosystem – slow, ancient, and essential – and this land deserves documentation worthy of their presence.

Volunteers with cameras, sketchbooks, plant knowledge, or simply sharp eyes and willing hands all belong here. Beginners belong here too.

How to Get Involved

Come photograph. Wildlife and plant documentation drives the archive. Bring your phone, your DSLR, your macro lens – whatever you carry. Every image counts.

Support on Patreon. Remote supporters fuel the work. A monthly contribution keeps equipment, supplies, and the sanctuary’s long-term restoration efforts running strong.

Ask about the Art Residency. Desert Rise Sanctuary offers an art residency program for creatives drawn to the desert landscape. Artists working in any medium – photography, painting, writing, ceramics, textile – connect with this land in a way that deepens both the art and the archive. Reach out and ask about availability and application details.

Why This Land Matters

The high desert around Joshua Tree carries a biodiversity that surprises first-time visitors. Creosote, cholla, desert willow, and countless native plants anchor the soil. Roadrunners, lizards, jackrabbits, and the elusive desert tortoise move through this terrain on schedules older than memory. Archiving this land creates a foundation for every restoration decision that follows.

Desert Rise Sanctuary builds that foundation one documented species at a time.

Join the BioBlitz – October 9 through 11. Support on Patreon, come photograph the land, or ask about the art residency. The desert is calling, and this work belongs to all of us.

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