The Global BioQuest Competition (April & October)

A fun, biannual competition!

What is it? The global BioQuest is a biannual competition on the Guardians of Earth platform. The Nature Realms (Realms) compete in a fun challenge to improve their community’s connection to the local environment over the course of the month.

Who can participate - and how?

The BioQuest is a competition between all registered Nature Realms within the Guardians of Earth platform. This includes a beautiful diversity of community-led Realms, such as schools, universities, resorts, parks, conservation projects - or even backyard biodiversity monitoring efforts. If you are a school, university, public library, or other public, non-profit organisation, IT'S FREE to create your own Nature Realm. Just contact us and we'll create the Realm for you. Each Realm competes cooperatively as a community. Anyone and everyone is invited to individually participate through their local Nature Realm(s).

When does the BioQuest competition take place?

The next BioQuest competition is October 2024. BioQuests happen twice a year, running throughout the months of April and October. The competition is based on UTC time.

How do you win a BioQuest?

During the BioQuest month, each Realm is competing to have the highest increase to their BioScore - a metric that reflects the BioCultural health of a Realm (more info on how BioScore is calculated here). You’ll be able to see how your Realm compares overall, but also relative to others in your category of competition (e.g. Schools, Universities, Resorts, Airports, Parks, Libraries, Botanic Gardens, etc). Can I win as an individual - or is it just for my Nature Realm? Yes, you can be a top scorer within your Nature Realm. And we expect to offer a special award for top scorers in the Spirits of the Realm app for the BioQuest.

How do you help your Realm boost its BioScore?

A community can increase its Realm’s BioScore by:

• recording species observations to the Realm using compatible citizen science apps and integrated nature-positive games (see compatible nature apps).

• adding species identifications to the Realm via the Oracle of Life. You can add a Realm as one of your 'Regions of Expertise' via your account's settings.

• adding ‘nature stories’ to the Realm - experiences, videos, podcasts, articles, images, indeed anything you feel can help restore the Realm’s bio-cultural health.

• awarding the stories ‘nature songs’ to amplify or soften their reach/impact.

Is all activity during the BioScore month counted?

Any stories and songs added during the month will count (unless removed from a Realm by their Admin).

How do I register my Nature Realm for the competition?

Entry into the BioQuest is included with your Nature Realm. All Realms that are created prior to, and during, the month will be automatically entered. For Realms added in the middle of the BioQuest, the scoring will still count retrospectively.

What about the University BioQuest or the Schools BioQuest?

The new BioQuest format supercedes the University BioQuest and Schools BioQuest. Universities and P-12 Schools will still compete. You’ll be able to see how your Realm compares overall, but also relative to others within the ‘Schools’, ‘Universities’ or many others.

Support Contacts:

For any questions or technical issues during the competition, please contact us.