Sixteen public events scheduled across the state; hundreds more worldwide
The third annual National Moth Week, a worldwide citizen science project started in New Jersey in 2012, will be celebrated across the state, beginning with an early kickoff “Moth Ball” slated for Friday, July 11, in Bergen County.
Started by the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission, the creators of National Moth Week are connected to Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Liti Haramaty is a marine sciences researcher at Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, David Moskowitz is completing a Ph.D. in Entomology. National Moth Week officially takes place the last full week and two weekends of July. This year’s dates are July 19-27. After its launch in 2012, National Moth Week quickly went global. As of July 2, hundreds of public and private events are registered on the National Moth Week site in all 50 states and 41 countries.
In New Jersey, public events are scheduled in parks, nature centers, a college campus and other sites in nine counties. They include a range of activities for children and adults to learn about and find moths. Some events have fees or require registration. Contact the organizations below for more details. To register a public or private event in the U.S. or abroad, go to nationalmothweek.org/registration
Atlantic County: Friday, July 25, 8:30 p.m.; Moth Night, Stockton State College, Galloway. Contact: Susan Allen, susan.allen@stockton.edu
Bergen County: Friday, July 11: 8:30 p.m.; Third Annual Allendale Moth Ball, Crestwood Park, Allendale. Jim Wright, wrightjamesb@gmail.com, 201-760-0804. Website: celeryfarm.net/2014/06/moth-ball-is-coming-up.html
Monday, July 21, 8:30 p.m.; Moth Night, DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst, sponsored by N.J. Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society. Contact: greatauk4@aol.com, 201-230-4983. Website: http://njmeadowlands.gov/njmc/nature/nature-walks.html
Burlington County: Saturday, July 19, 7:30 p.m., Historic Batsto Village, Wharton State Forest. Contact: Gil Mika, 609-567-4559. Website: batstovillage.org/village.htm
Friday, July 25, 7:30 p.m., Historic Whitesbog Village; sponsored by Whitesbog Preservation Trust, Pinelands Preservation Alliance and Pinelands Institute for Nature & Environmental Studies. Contact: WPT: Susan Phillips 609-893-4646, PPA; Amy Karpati 609-859-8860; or PINES: Ginette Pompeo 609-893-1765 Website: whitesbog.org
Saturday, July 26, 7:30 p.m., Franklin Parker Preserve, Chatsworth; sponsored by the N.J. Conservation Foundation. Contact: Sandy Perry, 908-234-1225. Website: http://www.njconservation.org/index.cfm
Essex County: July 19-26, Butterfly Tent Safari, Essex County Environmental Center, Roseland, Weekdays noon-3 p.m., Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Contact: 973-228-8776 Website: essexcountynj.org/p
Mercer County: July 26, 8:30 p.m., Moth Mania, Watershed Reserve, Pennington. Sponsored by Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association. Registration: (609) 737-7592 Website: thewatershed.org/news-and-events/events/family-adult-programs
Middlesex County: July 18, 8:30 p.m., Moth Night, Community Park (next to Crystal Springs) East Brunswick, sponsored by the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission. Contact: info@nationalmothweek.org, Website: friendsofebec.com
July 19, 9 a.m.-noon, moth and insect hunt, Plainsboro Preserve, Plainsboro. Co-sponsored by N.J. Audubon Society. Contact: 609-897-9400
Somerset County: July 25, 7:30 p.m., “The Silent Majority – Moths of New Jersey,” NJ Audubon-Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, Bernardsville. Contact: shws@njaudubon.org, 908-766-5787 Website: http://sh.njaudubon.org
Union County July 26, 7 p.m. program, 8:30 p.m. moth survey; Hawk Rise Sanctuary, Linden, sponsored by N.J. Audubon Society. Contact: Kelly Wenzel, kelly.wenzel@njaudubon.org, (908) 766-5787, ext. 41 Website: njaudubon.org
Warren County: July 23, 6:30-11 p.m., “Moth Night Adventures,” Pequest Hatchery & Natural Resource Education Center, Oxford Township, Contact: Dan Kurela, kurela@comcast.net, (201) 343-4798. Website: nj.gov/dep/fgw/budding.htm.
