| Project Name | Dragonfly Days |
| Project Number | 129 |
| Location | Fairbanks and Bettles, Alaska |
| Dates | June 18-20, 22, 2009 |
| Duration | |
| Number of Volunteers Needed | |
| Description | Connecting People with Dragonflies: An Exploration of Biodiversity Fairbanks, Alaska, June 18-20, 2009 Bettles, Alaska, June 22, 2009 Volunteer opportunities: Help with education efforts for Dragonfly Day, Fairbanks, June 20 Citizen Science: Learn to identify, collect, and preserve dragonfly and damselfly specimens to increase our knowledge about their diversity and distribution Background: Few insects capture people�s imagination more than dragonflies. These beautiful insects are an outstanding, but rarely utilized, opportunity to connect people with nature. As larvae and adults, dragonflies play an important role as both predator and prey in aquatic and terrestrial systems, making them ideal subjects for introducing the concept of ecological relationships. The goals of this project are to increase public awareness of dragonfly diversity, biology, and ecology and to expand upon the small body of information on dragonfly species diversity and distribution in Alaska. Dragonfly expert John Hudson and naturalist/photographer Bob Armstrong, co-authors of the book �Dragonflies of Alaska,� will be traveling from Juneau to work on this project. Fairbanks Events Volunteers can participate in a number of ways. If you are interested in learning how to identify dragonflies and damselflies, and possibly participate in citizen-science efforts to monitor dragonflies throughout the summer at local lakes, training in dragonfly capture and identification techniques will be available June 18-19. The second annual Dragonfly Day will be held at Creamer�s Field on June 20, from approximately 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. About 300 people attended last year�s event, far more than anticipated! We need volunteers to help at children�s crafts tables, educational displays, and face painting. People that received the identification training can also help with the dragonfly walks. We�re also open to additional ideas for events, particularly if somebody wants to be involved in the planning! Bettles Events Friends volunteers who live in Bettles and Evansville can learn how to identify dragonflies and help with collecting activities near the villages. This project is funded through a Fish and Wildlife Service Challenge Cost-Share Grant. |
| Contact | Lisa Saperstein: 907-456-0508 (lisa_saperstein@fws.gov) |