Image credits:
Sujith V Gopalan
Website:
http://bio.wwfindia.org/bio-festivals...
Tags:
Odonata, Dragonfly, Damselfly
Dragonfly Festival

Spectacular & charismatic are two words that aptly describe Dragonflies and Damselflies. Odonates play an integral role as indicator species in keeping our environment healthy & as predators to control the insect populations. While tigers & elephants are essential and well-known species in the story of biodiversity decline, millions of tiny lesser-known species like Dragonflies are also plummeting & showing signs of stress. Hence, to better understand the population trend of Odonates, a multi-pronged & long-term approach is required.

The Dragonfly Festival was initiated in 2018 to demystify Dragonflies & Damselflies and celebrate their role in our environment. Till now, we have engaged around 9000 individuals through on-ground counts, online workshops & competitions.

The Dragonfly Festival 2021 is being organised by WWF India in partnership with BNHS, UNEP, ZSI, Dragonfly SouthAsia Society, Indian Dragonfly Society, India Biodiversity Portal and MIT-WPU.

Year of Initiation:
2018
Project Coordinator:
Chetna Kaith
E-mail Address:
cskaith@wwfindia.net
Role in the project:
Project Lead
Institutional Affiliation:
WWF India
Taxa:
Odonata
Status:
Periodically active
No. of participants:
Above 1000
Geographical spread of project:
ALL INDIA
Run through an umbrella platform:
India Biodiversity Portal, iNaturalist
Purpose of the project:

The Dragonfly Festival demystifies the world of Dragonflies and Damselflies and celebrates their role in keeping our environment healthy.

Coordinating institution/organisation:
WWF India
Location of the coordinating institution/organisation(s):
Delhi
Data availability:
Immediately available to anyone
Participation in language other than English:
Yes
Other languages allowed for participation:
The workshops and expert sessions related to the festival are conducted Hindi and Malayalam
Appropriate age groups of participants:
All age groups
Citizen participation through:
Website
Why should people participate:

The Dragonfly Festival aims to connect children, youth and citizens with these beautiful and lesser-known species. Dragonfly Festival is an attempt to demystify the world of Odonate and build interest in young minds to understand and observe them. Though counts we wish to understand the population trend of dragonflies and damselflies in India, in the longer run.

Prior knowledge or expertise required:

The Dragonfly Festival will have something for everyone. We conduct expert sessions and workshops at regular intervals to build the knowledge and expertise of Odonates in India.

Website:
http://bio.wwfindia.org/bio-festivals.php
Tags:
Odonata, Dragonfly, Damselfly