Community Science with the Harris Center for Conservation Education

08/31/2026

📱 A jaw-dropping new technology now enables you to help track migrating monarchs from Canada to Mexico — and to see the paths of individual butterflies in precision detail — simply by downloading an app!

🦋 When this project was piloted last year, Monarch Joint Venture called it "the most comprehensive tracking study of monarch butterfly migration ever conducted" — and it's expanding to even more sites this migration season. Our friends at New Hampshire Audubon and the Vermont Center for Ecostudies have recently outfitted several monarchs with these tiny, ultralight trackers (with more to come!), so you could even encounter a local butterfly at the start of their epic journey. If you'd like to be part of this groundbreaking network, simply download the Project Monarch app (links in the comments), then start scanning for tagged butterflies.

Thanks to tiny new trackers and Bluetooth, scientists—and you—can now follow the epic journeys of individual butterflies.

08/21/2026

📬 Over the past week, the Harris Center has receiving anonymous love letters addressed to the "Salamander Squadron" from a group calling themselves the Postcard Underground! Six cards have arrived so far, with most postmarked in the Midwest. A few excerpts:

🐸 "I was just reading about the Salamander Squadron and your incredible efforts to safeguard these little critters. Bravo! Several years ago, in a state park near Pescadero, CA, I came across a "Newt Crossing" sign, which we thought was hilarious. Reading about your work gave new meaning to the sign. A heartfelt THANK YOU for what you are doing. The world needs more people like you!!"

🔦 "I want you to know your efforts are noticed and appreciated!"

🦺 "You are saving critical wildlife and showing others that if we, as humans, change our patterns, we can live together where we can all thrive."

💚 "Is there a creature more endearing than a salamander?! Thank you for all you do to protect them, one by one. It adds up!"

Many thanks to the Postcard Underground — whoever you are — for this sweet surprise, and to our many dedicated Salamander Crossing Brigade volunteers for their inspiring efforts, rainy night after rainy night.

08/06/2026

FIELD REPORT from the 2026 SUPERSANCTUARY BUTTERFLY COUNT!

🔍 Last month, 22 butterfly lovers searched meadows, gardens, and wetland edges for butterflies big and small during our fifth annual SuperSanctuary Butterfly Count through the .

📋 Collectively, they documented 549 individual butterflies and 24 species at 14 sites in Hancock, Antrim, and Peterborough, including two species that have only been documented on one other occasion during the five years of the SuperSanctuary Count: Question Mark (pictured) and Long Dash.

🦋 Our community scientists have now recorded 3,567 individual butterflies and 46 species since 2022 during our July count days, and a whopping 75 species throughout the year via our iNaturalist project. In addition, our annual July count data has been submitted to both NH Fish and Game and the North American Butterfly Association (NABA), where — together with data from other count circles — they're providing valuable information on long-term trends in Granite State butterfly populations.

👉 To see who is fluttering by the SuperSanctuary — and to add your own sightings — explore our iNaturalist project at www.inaturalist.org/projects/supersanctuary-butterfly-count

📸: Ben Conant, Mark Ellingwood, Nate Marchessault & Brett Amy Thelen

08/06/2026

Salamander season may be in the rear-view mirror for this year, but we're still making headlines! Good news travels far. 💚

NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S. — It’s a mild March night in Keene, New Hampshire, and the salamander brigade is out in full force. A constellation of flashlight beams wink and flash along a dark street, as rain falls onto the jackets and reflective vests of the assembled crew. Tonight, a veritable army of ...

08/04/2026

🍄‍🟫 The Harris Center's SuperSanctuary of protected lands spans more than 27,000 acres, and it’s brimming with biodiversity — from sedges to sparrows, mushrooms to moose. We're using iNaturalist to document as many of these species as possible, and sharing one particularly interesting observation for each month.

🌿 From July, we bring you an exciting find, hiding in plain sight! Though somewhat unassuming, thin-leaved sedge is considered "Threatened" in the state of New Hampshire, and there are fewer than 20 known populations statewide. The scarcity of this species is likely due to its affinity for calcium-rich deciduous woodlands, which are relatively uncommon in the Granite State. This is not only the first known occurrence of *this* species in Hancock, but also the first record of *any* Threatened or Endangered plant species in Hancock. Harris Center trustee Steven Lamonde discovered this sedge near the Harris Center meadow, and ecologist Nate Marchessault counted at least six plants during a return visit.

🔍 What will YOU discover? To learn more and add your own observations, visit harriscenter.org/inaturalist.

📸: Nate Marchessault

07/10/2026

🌸 Milkweed is blooming, and monarch butterflies are starting to arrive in greater numbers here in the Monadnock Region!

🐛 That means now is the perfect time to start surveying for monarch eggs, caterpillars, and butterflies for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) — a community science initiative that has been helping scientists understand and protect monarch populations for three decades.

🦋 Wondering what's involved? Check out a recording of our recent talk with Dr. Karen Oberhauser — a renowned monarch biologist and author of more than 90 scientific papers about monarchs, insect conservation, and community science — to learn about the monarch life cycle, why milkweed matters, the many challenges monarchs face from egg to adulthood, and how volunteer-collected data help researchers track population trends and inform conservation efforts. Dr. Oberhauser also explains how anyone can contribute by monitoring monarch eggs and caterpillars in their own community. After that, head over to mlmp.org to get started!



https://youtu.be/UVsmCV9srJ8

🐛In this recorded webinar, monarch researcher Dr. Karen Oberhauser ...

07/07/2026

🍃 The Harris Center's SuperSanctuary of protected lands encompasses more than 27,000 acres, and it’s brimming with biodiversity — from butterflies to birches, fish to fungi. We're using iNaturalist to document as many of these species as possible, and sharing one particularly interesting observation for each month.

🦋 From late June, we bring you the common ringlet. Frequently found in meadows and other clearings, these diminutive butterflies get their name from the distinctive dark "rings" on their orange forewings. They can also be identified by their bouncy flight pattern as they fly low over meadows to commute between nectar plants, find mates, and look for places to deposit eggs. Tom Momeyer spotted this individual in the field at our Hiroshi Land.

🔍 What will YOU discover? To learn more and add your own observations, visit harriscenter.org/inaturalist.

👉 And if you’d like to learn more about local butterflies, be sure to join us for our annual SuperSanctuary Butterfly Count on July 18! Learn more & register at harriscenter.org/events/supersanctuary-butterfly-count-2026

📸: Tom Momeyer