2024 Butterfly Walk (In-Person, Offsite Program, Parking at 105/107 Cross Highway)

Please register below. This program will take place at 105/107 Cross Highway, Redding. Calling all kids and kids-at-heart! The 2024 butterfly count, and the preceding pollinator overview, featuring noted local expert Victor DeMasi and his team of experienced spotters, is a great family activity. An introduction to Redding’s typical butterfly species will start at 9:30 am and will feature spectacular museum displays of mounted specimens as well as children’s books on butterflies, insects and pollinator habitats. Participants will learn about the field method employed for the count which will begin at 10 AM. A walk through the meadow with the ‘counters’ follows.  Alternately, visitors can easily access the entrance of the shady Little River trail across the River.

Every year close to the 4th of July, lepidopterists across the country hit the meadows, swamps and forests to count our beautiful butterflies. Sponsored by the North American Butterfly Association (NABA), the July butterfly count has taken place and collected data (published and available for a fee at www.naba.org) for forty years. Previous count tallies indicate which butterflies are becoming more common, are declining in numbers or are showing up in places we didn’t expect to find them. In 2020, there were over 300 counts across the continent recording  432 species of Lepidoptera totaling 304,692 individual butterflies!

Please park at 105/107 Cross Highway. Refreshments will be served. RAIN DATE JULY 7th.

Proper field dress is REQUIRED: Long pants preferably light in color, tucked into socks and sturdy shoes. Tick spray is recommended around the ankles. Visitors wearing shorts or sandals should not partake in the field portion of the morning to avoid ticks and other biting insects.