BioBlitz bonanza
June 10, 2025 - Furry, scaly, feathery, smooth, striped, and spotted: our wild residents are important to us. Here’s how we’re helping to conserve and protect them, and how you can help too.
Our properties are mini sanctuaries for wild plants and animals, many of which are listed as vulnerable, threatened, or endangered. On the advice of experts, we work to protect them. To support our efforts, we observe without disturbing, quietly monitoring their habits, homes, and populations on land and under the water.
We couldn’t do it without the energy and enthusiasm of our incredible hosts. And now, there’s a way for you to get involved too.
BioBlitz in action
From May 1 to 7, Six Senses hosts participated in a one-week BioBlitz supported by iNaturalist, a non-profit biodiversity recording app and website for nature enthusiasts and scientists. Not confined to rural locations, our corporate colleagues rose to the challenge, spotting and recording urban wildlife in central London and downtown Bangkok. Every recorded observation is now being peer-reviewed by the iNaturalist expert community.
- 584 hosts uploaded images to iNaturalist
- 6,176 species were recorded
- 5,180 research-grade observations have been confirmed
As VP of Sustainability Jeff Smith shares, “BioBlitz plays a central role in our strategy on biodiversity. It’s a brand-wide teambuilding activity that connects our people with nature, while at the same time generating research-quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect it.”
By replicating this initiative and documenting our findings annually, we aim to monitor changes in biodiversity and continue to safeguard our wildlife and landscapes in ways that promote happy and healthy ecosystems.
From global initiatives to local projects, it all counts
At Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Vietnam, in Vietnam, we’ve partnered with local NGO GreenViet to install multiple motion detecting cameras and monitor three critically endangered and endangered species, previously unknown to us, living in close proximity to the resort.
Alongside our much-loved black-shanked douc langurs, the cameras recorded a Sunda pangolin (the world’s most trafficked animal), a pygmy slow loris, and a silver-backed chevrotain (or mouse deer). These shy creatures were previously thought to be extinct, having not been sighted for three decades, making this a thrilling discovery and a major win for wildlife.
Get snapping and get involved
We’re huge advocates of a digital detox at Six Senses. But, if you do happen to have your phone in your back pocket, feel free to snap a photo of an animal or interesting plant. You can either upload your image to the iNaturalist app (where you can also see previously recorded sightings), or speak to your GEM or a member of the Earth Lab team, who will be happy to help you. With 36,969 observations already in the bag, they certainly know what they’re doing!