National BioBlitz 2026 - Practise

Background

This report is based on our 2025 National BioBlitz Data and is used to develop our new scoring approach for 2026, which includes the following changes:

• Species scores based on the new 2026 approach - i.e. including higher taxa
• Double scores for non-native species records
• Bonus scores for covering new grid cells as follows:
  • 50 first record in 5km grid cell
  • 100 first record in 10km grid cell
  • 1000 first record in 100km grid cell

Load data

Data preparation

The datasets used in this analysis combine:

• Verified observations submitted to the 2025 National BioBlitz via iNaturalist
• A pre-processed 5km coastal grid aligned to the British National Grid (OSGB)
• A curated list of UK marine non-native species (INNS) - provided by Natural England
• A rarity scoring framework used to weight species observations

Only observations associated with the 2025 BioBlitz project are included. Records are filtered and processed to ensure consistency with the proposed 2026 scoring system.

Interactive map showing grid cell completion

This map visualises:

• All BioBlitz observations as points
• 5km coastal grid cells
• The number of records per grid cell
• Coverage gaps (cells with no records remain unshaded)

Potential bonus map (exploration incentives)

This map visualises the potential scoring opportunity across the UK coastline under the proposed 2026 BioBlitz rules.

Rather than showing where recording has already taken place, this view highlights where effort is most valuable.

How to interpret the map

Each 5km coastal grid cell is assigned a potential bonus score based on existing coverage at multiple spatial scales:

• No shading → This grid cell already contains at least one record
• 50 points (blue) → No record yet in this 5km grid cell
• 100 points (orange) → No record yet in the wider 10km grid cell
• 1000 points (red) → No record yet in the 100km grid cell

Each cell is coloured according to the highest available bonus, meaning:

The map highlights the maximum potential reward for recording in that location.

This map provides a strategic view of recording priorities:

• Red areas (10,000 points) represent major gaps in national coverage
• Orange areas (1,000 points) highlight under-recorded regions at a regional scale
• Blue areas (500 points) indicate local gaps within otherwise surveyed regions
• Unshaded cells already contain records and therefore offer no exploration bonus

This approach ensures that participants are incentivised not only to record biodiversity, but to do so in locations where their contribution is most valuable.

Scoring and League Table - National

Scoring and league table – national

To evaluate the impact of the proposed scoring system, a national leaderboard has been generated using 2025 BioBlitz data.

Scores are calculated based on:

• A rarity-weighted scoring system applied to all verified taxa
• Additional weighting for non-native species, which are counted twice
• (Future integration) spatial bonuses for recording in previously unsurveyed grid cells

This provides a simulation of how participant rankings would change under the 2026 rules.

🏆 National BioBlitz 2025 Leaderboard
2026 scoring simulation (including INNS bonus)
Rank	Recorder	All Taxa Score	INNS Score	Explorer bonus	Total Score
1	cathgem2000	123	0	2,000	2,123
2	Amy B	484	20	1,400	1,904
3	Alexander Lydon	1,426	137	100	1,663
4	Liz	410	70	1,000	1,480
5	Nathan Jackson	219	0	1,150	1,369
6	Beach School Explorers	59	32	1,200	1,291
7	ruthwrightinns	280	0	1,000	1,280
8	jacksoohey	179	26	1,000	1,205
9	jtee3	84	16	1,100	1,200
10	annaed93	173	0	1,000	1,173
11	John Hepburn	45	0	1,100	1,145
12	Ben Holt	107	10	1,000	1,117
13	Jennie Guard	93	10	1,000	1,103
14	knb1	84	0	1,000	1,084
15	alixparsons	68	10	1,000	1,078
16	Isobel Fern	1,015	50	0	1,065
17	christineholt	21	0	1,000	1,021
18	aliceyypoo	782	46	0	828
19	Nicolas Jouault	719	67	0	786
20	dellk	737	26	0	763
21	R Avery	468	46	150	664
22	amybioblitzer	571	16	0	587
23	Adrian Seymour	469	42	0	511
24	unorthodox_sketch	353	0	100	453
25	Holly Robertson	353	0	100	453
26	Yolanda Evans	427	10	0	437
27	Leo Muid	382	46	0	428
28	mediumegret	393	10	0	403
29	drsarahcharles	241	60	100	401
30	Kirsty Anderson	372	26	0	398
31	Jenna Hawkey	383	10	0	393
32	Sophie Crocker	357	11	0	368
33	andy-keystoyer	205	10	100	315
34	booshiner	242	36	0	278
35	rhodomella	143	10	100	253
36	richieroo	214	16	0	230
37	Leonie MacMillan	205	20	0	225
38	Phoebe Marshman	93	0	100	193
39	jennafowler	172	10	0	182
40	smegson	179	0	0	179
41	jkgarrett	131	46	0	177
42	Chloe Kingston	161	16	0	177
43	keasty69	56	0	100	156
44	Isa Fulford	140	14	0	154
45	kcb25	118	32	0	150
46	catjaytee	146	0	0	146
47	lillysmudge	45	0	100	145
48	pearlseeker	103	25	0	128
49	jessie_sey	120	0	0	120
50	Ruben Mcfenn	97	0	0	97
51	Samantha Carmona	95	0	0	95
52	Victoria Blades	88	0	0	88
53	corinnecarl	76	10	0	86
54	etaylor95	71	0	0	71
55	angelawilles	71	0	0	71
56	jmwilkins	58	0	0	58
57	Samuel Jones	51	0	0	51
58	jennyleca	48	0	0	48
59	leahmar	46	0	0	46
60	Polly Tonkins	34	10	0	44
61	dontstepontheflowers	43	0	0	43
62	jessd7322	38	0	0	38
63	the_curious_pickle	24	0	0	24
64	cattayrob	19	0	0	19
65	KW	13	0	0	13
66	rosiecottiss	12	0	0	12
67	eve-jek	12	0	0	12
68	Keira Jones	9	0	0	9
69	benfowler123	8	0	0	8