Are you interested in science and want to get involved in hands-on learning?
This summer Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) and The Riverwood Conservancy are hosting the first annual Butterfly Blitz in the Credit River Watershed.
The organizations are seeking volunteers looking to spread their wings in the field of citizen science. Participants will help create a watershed-wide inventory of butterflies by sharing local sightings.
CVC and The Riverwood Conservancy are hosting a kick-off training event on Saturday, June 22, 2019. Environmental enthusiasts and residents will learn how to participate in the program, identify different butterflies in their neighbourhoods and share their butterfly sightings.
“Butterfly Blitz is a new program that’s open to all residents in the watershed interested in science and nature,” said Laura Timms, ecologist with CVC.
“Everyone can participate no matter their experience level and information collected will help us monitor the health of the watershed. Butterflies are indicators of a healthy environment. Where they flourish, so does nature.”
The Butterfly Blitz program has four participation levels and volunteers can choose how they get involved.
Levels range from submitting butterfly observations to butterfly counts through timed surveys. All butterfly observations are submitted through iNaturalist, an online citizen science social network for naturalists, citizen scientists and biologists to share biodiversity information and observations.
Registration is required for the June 22 kick-off event, however it’s not necessary to attend to participate in Butterfly Blitz.
Anyone can join the program and submit butterfly observations on the iNaturalist site.
Data collected from across the watershed, including public parks, school grounds, gardens, fields, forest or volunteers’ backyards, will be used to:
– track species locations
– identify first and last detection of species
– confirm the variety of species and
– identify rare species.
The Butterfly Blitz program runs from June 22 to August 24.
Data collected will help identify population trends over time. Butterfly Blitz will run over a five-year period.
It will offer valuable insights to help protect and restore wildlife habitat in the Credit River Watershed.
Volunteers interested in learning more the program can visit cvc.ca/butterflyblitz.
