Delhi Butterfly Month: This September, spot your favourite winged beauty

September is Butterfly Month, and Delhiites are gearing up to spot butterflies and be part of events like counting and photography. Join in!

Delhiites, here’s your chance to get lost in the beautiful world of butterflies and also help in conserving the winged beauties of the city. The month of September is being observed as the Delhi Butterfly Month by Conservation Education Centre (CEC) — Delhi Wing of Bombay Natural History Society — along with Department of Forests and Wildlife, Govt of NCT, Delhi.

A month-long initiative with the aim of conserving butterflies is being organised in the Capital.

“I’ll guide the attendees during the butterfly walks on the right camera angles, to click butterflies”

— Rohit Yadav , DU student

There will be a host of activities that will be kicked-off from the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. These will include a butterfly origami workshop — where kids will learn to make butterflies with origami papers, breakfast discussions on butterflies, photography competitions, blog and slogan writing on the winged insect. The series of events will culminate on the Big Butterfly Count Day on September 17.

The volunteers will also form teams to conduct a census, counting butterflies of different varieties present in the green zones of Delhi that include Aravalli Biodiversity Park, Yamuna Biodiversity Park, Jawaharlal Nehru University area, Buddha Jayanti Park, Tilpath Valley, Tughlakabad Biodiversity Park and Lodi Gardens. “There isn’t a comprehensive list of butterflies in Delhi. Thus, we initiated a citizen science project, to involve Delhiites in the data collection process. We’ll also go to college campuses and teach students on how to go about it,” says Sohail Madan, centre head, CEC.

Rohit Yadav, a DU student, who will lead some of the butterfly walks, says, “I will be explaining about the types of butterflies, and their life cycle.” Sudipta Maity, another volunteer from DU adds, “This little creature needs our attention and requires our efforts for its conservation.”

CATCH IT LIVE

September 1: Butterfly Origami workshop

September 2; Butterfly Walk

September 3: Breakfast with Butterflies

September4-16: Butterfly campus count and outreach programme

September 17: Delhi’s big Butterfly count

For more information log onto cecdelhi.blogspot.in

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