The Big Rock Pool Challenge BioBlitz Battle

The Big Rock Pool Challenge BioBlitz Battle comes to Ovingdean on Saturday 11 July, a 90-minute friendly competition run by The Rock Pool Project in partnership with the Marine Biological Association. It's a team-based race: you get 90 minutes to find and identify as many marine species as you can in the rock pools. The more you spot, the higher your score, and the whole thing is free to join.

There's a bit of a twist to the scoring, too. Your discoveries go onto iNaturalist, and the app calculates your score based on how rare the species are in the UK database. So, finding something unusual counts for more than the common stuff. You don't need any scientific knowledge to take part, which makes it easy to bring along families, budding marine biologists, or just anyone who loves the ocean. Beyond the competition, it's a hands-on way to pick up species identification skills and chat with marine experts.

The data you collect doesn't just sit in the app, either. It goes into real scientific research, helping to monitor environmental stressors like pollution and climate change, and tracking the spread of non-native species. The project is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Scottish Power Foundation, so it's part of a wider effort to gather verified biodiversity data.

It's a 90-minute session, and it's free to enter. The Big Rock Pool Challenge is a pilot project, so this is one of the first times it's being run. If you're around Brighton on 11 July, it's a good excuse to get down to Ovingdean and see what's living in the pools.