To raise awareness about the tiny ‘helicopters’ in our ecosystem — dragonflies — WWF India launched a Dragonfly Festival last week. This is in partnership with BNHS, UNEP, ZSI, Dragonfly South Asia Society, Indian Dragonfly Society, Society of Odinata studies, MIT-WPU University and India Biodiversity Portal.
Sohail Madan, Center Manager, CEC-Delhi, BNHS, informs this a six-month-long citizen science initiative (till February 2022), involving interactive, creative and fun activities with specific days set aside for holding a dragonfly count. “We have begun these programmes at a few Delhi schools and colleges. There is huge scope here to train people for the counts. We are trying to collect enough data to eventually release a publication. We will hold public events for people to join in, but the structure will depend on the Covid situation,” adds Madan.
Since the first Dragonfly Festival launched in 2018, close to 10,000 people participated in field visits, on-ground counts, online workshops, digital resources and photography competitions. The 2021 edition hopes to engage audiences from 10 states via sessions held in the local regional language. Madan informs, “Several contests like photography, life cycle and others will be announced soon, but we are yet to plan a schedule for the entire six months. For Delhi, we have virtual talks and we will go to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary for public counts in which people will also participate.”
Through this fest, a total of 25 species of dragonflies have been identified in Delhi. WWF India Education Director Radhika Suri says, “It is essential that children understand the big role tiny species play. Only when they observe and connect with nature, can we truly see the positive effect on the planet.”
During the festival, audiences are encouraged to upload their observations on the iNaturalist app and the India Biodiversity Portal. This year, children can also use the SeekApp to discover dragonflies around them.
Talking about the aim of the fest, Madan says, “Mostly, people assume there is a lot of ongoing research and data available on insects, which is not the case. We want to focus on insects by collecting data from large sets that researchers can use in future. Secondly, dragonflies are very important bio-controllers of diseases like malaria and dengue. Involving people in such an exercise will help in the conservation of dragonflies.”
Over the course of 15 weeks, over 10,000 observations had been submitted through the iNaturalist app and the India Biodiversity Portal during the Dragonfly Festival 2020. This data was useful in understanding dragonfly populations, especially the Wandering Glider, a migratory species on which limited information had been recorded.
VISIT: bio.wwfindia.org/bio-festivals.php to participate in contests and activities
“It is essential that children understand the big role tiny species play. Only when they observe and connect with nature, can we truly see the positive effect on the planet.”
Radhika Suri, India WWF India Education Director