Murrumbidgee Landcare is hosting a family friendly education evening at Lake Centenary on Friday 4 September, featuring moths and in particular the Bogong Moth. Moth researcher Ebba Widman, from the University of Melbourne, is in the region conducting field surveys as part of her PhD and will be taking some time out to conduct the education session to explain what the work entails and how the research is conducted. Moths are not usually one of the creature’s people think about when they think about biodiversity studies, but the Bogong moth has been an important part indigenous cultural history and has seen a sharp decline in numbers since 2016. Getting under way at 6pm the Moths After Dark program is a great opportunity for children, parents, carers, families, community members, and anyone interested in nature, citizen science and connecting with the environment to learn all about how eDNA research works. The free community event is open to all ages, and everyone is encouraged to bring along a camp chair and a picnic or barbeque dinner to hear about the work and also share their experiences with moths. Using a sheet and light, we will view what moths are out in the evening. Ebba will talk about her research project and why eDNA is a great tool for surveying wildlife populations. Community members can get hands on experience sampling and identifying moths that are caught on the night.
