The Moth Ball Returns!
A two-week vacation 'round California culminated at Club Deluxe in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco July 14 where saxophonist Stephen Lugerner ended every set by remarking on the significance of simply being there, in a crowded club, playing live.
What has that got to do with iNaturalist?
It's been a tough year, for us too, most especially because our hopes and plans for the 'Center at Center Hill' had to be put on hold until people felt comfortable being inside again.
I'm proud of the way that the Pine Barrens Alliance continued its work during the pandemic: we were very busy this past year, but our headquarters was empty on most days and we had to cancel several of our annual events, including the 2020 Moth Ball.
There were indications that things were changing for the better earlier this year, so we decided to schedule the 2021 Moth Ball for July 23 (during International Moth Week) but, not sure how much we'd be allowed to do, we altered the format, essentially tailoring the event for adults, including scheduling the start for 8 pm.
Two weeks before the Ball the "Jill S. Crafts" summer scholars took up residency in the Center, exploring the preserve and creating over a half-dozen citizen science projects based on the natural communities, habitat and species of the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens.
These middle and high school students roamed the preserve, exploring our bog, the tidepools along our coast, the woods and wildlands that we always hoped would become a living classroom for teaching about the unique qualities and intrinsic value of this globally rare ecoregion, and ended their 10-days here with presentations on poison ivy, edible plants, the remarkable pitch pine tree and other subjects - demonstrating both the individual students creativity and the potential of our facility and grounds.
The 'scholars' last day was followed, that night, by the moth ball, where upwards of 75 people marveled at the dozens of moth species found (lured to 'traps' by special lighting) in the preserve and, by inference, within this special ecoregion while enjoying the traditional beverage of Lepidopterists worldwide, the root beer float.
Jake McCumber, who manages the second largest tract of undisturbed pine barrens in the ecoregion at Joint Base Cape Cod, attended the Ball with his two young children and, using iNaturalist, recorded over 80 varieties of moths including one that, he believes, has never been seen in Plymouth County.
The event went on until after 1 a.m.
It was exciting to see so many people, actually there. It was exciting to see so many moths, lured by the lights. It was exciting to think that, with perseverance and a little luck, this was just the first of many more gatherings, walks, events and educational activities to come at the Center, at Center Hill.
