Vermont Butterfly Atlas Workshop & Butterfly Bioblitz

The Brattleboro and Guilford Conservation Commissions, Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (BEEC), and Brooks Memorial Library are presenting an exciting opportunity to participate in community science!

Join Dana Williams from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies for a fun-filled day of learning about the butterflies of Windham County and how you can contribute to the Vermont Butterfly Atlas. Volunteers are needed to help search fields and fens, mountains and meadows, and even their own backyards to document the status of Vermont’s butterflies. Your efforts will help scientists detect changes in butterfly populations and provide essential information to protect butterflies and preserve their habitat.

Vermont Butterfly Atlas Workshop
11am at Brooks Memorial Library

This indoor workshop will introduce the Vermont Butterfly Atlas and teach us how to observe and identify butterflies in the wild and report our sightings using eButterfly and iNaturalist. The Vermont Butterfly Atlas has already documented four species new or rediscovered in the state! Learn about community science field work and conservation efforts, and ask questions about the finer points of butterfly identification and natural history.

Butterfly Bioblitz
12:30pm at Hogle Wildlife Sanctuary (entrance at Eaton Avenue, Brattleboro)

Discover the fascinating world of butterflying by joining an expedition at our local wildlife sanctuary. This hands-on exploration will help us survey the butterfly and insect populations and identify host plants and anything interesting we encounter. We will investigate the trail and meadows for butterflies nectaring or using a host plant (egg-laying or caterpillars feeding). Searching for butterflies in the field is a great way to spend time with other nature lovers and get motivated to document the butterflies in the field.

For the bioblitz, please bring:

• water and sun protection
• a smartphone/camera or binoculars if you have them
• your questions and curiosity!

These events are part of the Brooks Memorial Library’s “Summer of Community Science” Adult Summer Reading program.

No registration is required and you may attend one or both events. Free and open to all ages.

Butterflies prefer warm and sunny weather. There will be a rain date of Saturday, July 12th. Updates will be posted on the Brooks Memorial Library website and Facebook page.

Dana Williams is the Community Science Coordinator at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, where she helps community members contribute to conservation efforts across the state of Vermont. Previously, she worked in nature education for all ages as the programs director at Williamstown Rural Lands, a small land trust in Massachusetts. She holds a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she researched the social relationships of animals.