Spring is in the air! As the accelerator complex starts to awaken, so too does the biodiversity on the CERN site. But it’s not just blossom on the trees and sheep returning to graze – the vast CERN sites are home to a plethora of species.
To celebrate spring, we’re launching an online nature-themed scavenger hunt, using the “biodiversity walk” website. Created by SCE’s Geographic Information System team, the biodiversity walk takes you on a comprehensive virtual tour of CERN’s biodiversity around Meyrin, Prévessin and beyond.
Participants in the scavenger hunt will have a chance to win two CAGI Choco Passes courtesy of Geneva Tourism and the International Geneva Welcome Centre (CAGI), which runs a cultural kiosk at CERN. The Choco Passes are for two people to spend a day exploring Geneva and sampling chocolates from a range of different chocolate shops.
Here’s how to enter the scavenger hunt:
- Open the biodiversity walk website at cern.ch/biodiversity-walk.
- Use the information you find there to answer the questions below.
- Send your answers to bulletin-editors@cern.ch by Monday, 14 April, 11.59 p.m. CEST from your CERN email address.
All entries will go into a prize draw and the winner of the two Choco Passes will be announced in the next edition of the Bulletin. Good luck!
Questions:
- Eighteen species of which type of plant can be found across the CERN sites?
- Which snake can be seen slithering near LHC Point 6? No need to worry, it is harmless and, if threatened, will play dead.
- Which species has yellow translucent wings and can be found near Crozet? It is not a dragonfly, even if it may look like one.
- Which bird, found on the Prévessin site, has the impressive multitasking skills of eating, sleeping and even mating in mid-flight?
- Which common bird sings alongside a beautiful experiment?