KOCHI: WWF-India Kerala State Office is joining hands with the Society for Odonate Studies (SOS) and Thumbipuranam for the first-ever state Dragonfly Festival in Kerala, christened ‘Thumbi Maholsavam 2020’.This is part of the National Dragonfly Festival organised by WWF India, Bombay Natural History Society and Indian Dragonfly Society in association with National Biodiversity Board, UN Environmental Programme, UN Development Programme and IUCN-CEC.
As part of the Dragonfly Festival, a series of events will be rolled out in the coming months to reach out to various sections of the society. Initially, a training session will be organised to get more people trained on dragonflies. This will be followed by a series of webinars commencing from September onwards targeting the public, especially children and youth.
A ‘Dragonfly Backyard Watch’ has also been announced to enhance the participation of people and improve their observation skills. A field guide on ‘Common Dragonflies of Kerala’ and a ‘Children’s Dragonfly Coloring & Activity Book’ is also under development. Those interested can contact A K Sivakumar of WWF India at asivakumar@wwfindia.net or Sujith V Gopalan of SOS at sujith.vg@gmail.com.
Thumbi Maholsavam
As part of the festival, a series of events will be rolled out. A session on spreading awareness on dragonflies will be followed by webinars from September. A ‘Dragonfly Backyard Watch’ has also been announced