National Moth Week is celebrated on the last full week of July every year.
It’s an opportunity to discover and appreciate the diversity and beauty of one of nature’s underdogs – moths!
This year, FortWhyte Alive is celebrating these small but impressive creatures with a series of programs and workshops to help you increase your knowledge of moths, how you can support them by becoming a community scientist, and you might even get up close with them on the trails!
Ready to immerse yourself in the world of moths? Check out our moth themed programs below!
Moth Week BioBlitz
July 19 – 26
Grab your phone and use the iNaturalist app to help gather information about our local moth populations. A BioBlitz is when community members work together to gather information about living things in a certain place at a specific time.
iNaturalist Workshops
July 22 at 11:30am and July 25 at 1pm
iNaturalist is a free online community of nature enthusiasts, from beginners to experts and everyone in between. It allows you to get to know the living things around you while gathering valuable data in the process. Get started on your own or attend one of our iNaturalist workshops on Tuesday, July 22 and Friday, July 25.
This program begins with a presentation and concludes with a guided walk. You’re welcome to join the full experience or participate in whichever part best suits your needs.
Can’t make it to a BioBlitz workshop? Here are the basic steps to get started:
- Start by creating a free account in the iNaturalist.
- Join a project – the different bio-blitz events happening right now – we suggest the FortWhyte Alive project.
- You can link your observations to that project!
- To make an observation, take a photo or recording of your find,4 upload it in the app, identify it (or let the app help you), and details like the location, and submit!
- Now you’re a community scientist!
Moth Party!
July 19 from 12:30 – 2:30 pm
Learn more about moths and then take a guided walk to discover an incredible diversity of colours, shapes, sizes and behaviours!
This program begins with a presentation about moths and concludes with a guided walk. You’re welcome to join the full experience or participate in whichever part best suits your needs.
Moth Discovery
August 14 from 9 – 11 pm (*registration required)
Special guest Dr. Robert Wrigley will be setting up a moth “light trap” for a late-night program to attract and view nocturnal insects such as moths, beetles, flies, and others! A special opportunity to discover life after dark.
As insects arrive at the light, you will have a chance to take a closer look, take photos, or try your hand at identifying the insects. Some insects may be gently handled if you want to try before they’re safely released at the end of the evening.