Echo azure butterfly. Photo taken by BIMBY Seeker Michelle Tseng
I joined BIMBY in 2019 because my colleague Tara Moreau thought I would be interested in the great work the DSF-Butterflyway and BIMBY team was doing. Oh boy, was she right.
I could not believe (and still can’t believe) the community of people who were all dedicating their time and energy to learning about butterfly conservation, photographing butterflies and exploring the ins and outs of iNaturalist. The year quickly morphed into 2.5 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I can say with absolute certainty that those Zoom meetings with BIMBY volunteers from around the province helped keep me going through those tough times. What an absolute treat it was to chat and listen to all of these butterfly enthusiasts talk about that darn purplish copper that got away or the difference between host and nectar plants. I’m sure I’ve learned more from them than they have from me.
I teach a few ecology classes at the University of British Columbia and I always carve out some time to talk about the BIMBY project, monitoring butterflies in British Columbia (and now Canada!) and the importance of community connections when doing biodiversity work. These classes always get the highest amount of engagement from my students. They are so impressed with the work that the DSF-BIMBY team is doing, and some of them even sign up themselves.
BIMBY has been an incredible addition to my life. The experience of contributing meaningfully to butterfly conservation while working with wonderful people, having the best conversations and spending time outdoors in this beautiful province is absolutely second to none.
Through the DSF BIMBY group, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some incredible people. I will never understand how people like Sue Elwell, Shirley Morrison and Cori Dixon (just to name a few) manage to photograph so many different species of butterflies. I’ve also now had the opportunity to meet Crispin Guppy and Jon Shepard, authors of the indispensable Butterflies of British Columbia book. Cris and Jon have even Zoomed in to chat with my insect ecology class and generously shared original data from their book. I affectionately call them my butterfly grandpas. (I haven’t told them that yet though!)
Projects like BIMBY, which have a lot of moving pieces and bring in people from all walks of life, are only possible if they are led by amazing people. I can’t say enough about Winnie Hwo and Stephen Deedes-Vincke. Winnie could probably convince a butterfly to pose for my camera with one wing up and one wing down, and Stephen could probably give tips to the iNaturalist developers on how to make better use of their tool, in the most patient and soothing British accent, of course. BIMBY has been an incredible addition to my life. The experience of contributing meaningfully to butterfly conservation while working with wonderful people, having the best conversations and spending time outdoors in this beautiful province is absolutely second to none.
