Community-led science project, Butterflies in My Backyard, goes national in 2024
TORONTO | Traditional territories of several First Nations including the Williams Treaties First Nations, Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation — Butterflies in My Backyard (BIMBY) is a community science project that invites and trains volunteers to help document butterflies by taking photos of them and the plants they rest or feed on.
More than 500 British Columbians joined BIMBY over the past two years. In 2023, BIMBY Seekers (volunteers who joined the project) submitted over 20,000 photos of 143 different butterfly species to the BIMBY Project on iNaturalist. The 2024 season is about to kick off, and for the first time since the project’s inception we are calling for everyone in the country to join. Together, we can help scientists learn about the state of Canada’s 302 butterfly species and the environments that help them survive and thrive.
“On my hunt for butterflies, I have become so much more aware of the environment and the life that surrounds me,” says BIMBY Seeker Courtney Ashford. “I was taken aback by how I notice so many more insects now — bees, dragonflies, moths, flies and, of course, butterflies. I also have gotten to learn so much more about plants and trees (both native and invasive) and the importance and interplay between them and other species.”
In addition to immersing themselves within nature and learning more about the pollinators that support all life, Seekers enjoy the community being built within the program; the connection they were missing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the pandemic I was a youth addiction counsellor. In short this meant I was in a health-care sandwich, pandemic inside an opioid epidemic. My world became small and insulated in a bubble of crisis,” says BIMBY Seeker Amber Del Puppo. “I needed to restore my own sense of hope. I joined the BIMBY project and the change was amazing. I went from tuning out the city, hardly noticing anything around me to constantly scanning for butterflies! I found immense joy in stalking these small creatures slowly and carefully to get the perfect shot.”
Stephen Deedes-Vincke is the project’s volunteer BIMBY iNaturalist specialist. He trains BIMBY Seekers and helps analyze the data at the end of each season.
“By actively participating in the David Suzuki Foundation’s BIMBY Project, I have the privilege of merging my passion for nature and conservation with my keen interest in community science and data analysis. Our collective efforts aim to influence future policy decisions and safeguard not only our butterflies but also other vital pollinators and wildlife. Through our work on the BIMBY project, I aspire to make a meaningful contribution toward the protection of butterflies throughout Canada,” Deedes-Vincke says.
Recruitment for BIMBY starts now. Nature enthusiasts can join the project by submitting an application form by April 12, 2024.
For more information about the BIMBY Project, visit www.davidsuzuki.org/BIMBY.
– 30 –
For more information or to arrange media interviews, please contact:
Kate Kourtsidis, 613-806-8184, kkourtsidis@davidsuzuki.org
About:
The David Suzuki Foundation (DavidSuzuki.org | @DavidSuzukiFdn) is a leading Canadian environmental non-profit organization, founded in 1990. We operate in English and French, with offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. We collaborate with all people in Canada, including First Nations leadership, and communities, governments, businesses and individuals to find solutions to create a sustainable Canada through scientific research, traditional ecological knowledge, communications and public engagement, and innovative policy and legal solutions. Our mission is to protect nature’s diversity and the wellbeing of all life, now and for the future.